


Before Daybreak

by SpookyBunny



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Eren Yeager, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Big Brother Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Bisexual Armin Arlert, Brief Unrequited Crush, Erwin/Levi side pairing, Gay Eren Yeager, Grisha Yeager's Bad Parenting, It Gets Worse, Jean/Marco side pairing, King Grisha Yeager, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, Mpreg, Omega Armin Arlert, Omegas are Oppressed, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peasant Armin Arlert, Prince Eren Yeager, Prostitution, Slow Burn, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, i promise there is a happy ending, kingdom au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:38:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11801472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyBunny/pseuds/SpookyBunny
Summary: In a Kingdom on the brink of war, Omegas are an oppressed and fetishized minority, intellectuals and those who question the government are deemed criminals, and those in power fight tooth and nail for more. Yet somehow, in the midst of all this, Armin, and Omega peasant, and Eren, a sheltered Alpha prince, who has spent most of his life in seclusion, end up falling in love.Although it's AU this story has a few manga spoilers, mostly having to do with backstories and character relationships. You've been warned.





	1. Chapter 1

15 years earlier

With a bounce in his step, Armin Arlert pushed through the doors of the small schoolhouse. The rucksack on his back was near empty, but between his two tiny hands he clutched a small, papier-mâché blob. A happy grin was plastered on his cherubic face.

“Armin!” he heard, still standing at the top of the steps. He looked around at the swarms of parents that were outside, waiting for their children. Finally, he spotted a woman, not so far away, waving to him.

He ran to her, papier-mâché monstrosity still clutched between his hands. He tried to be conscious not to let it fall from his grip as he ran, but in the process he tripped over a stray stone laying on the ground. He tumbled over, but at the last second managed to turn to his side, as not to crush his prize.

“Armin!” the woman said again, rushing over to him. She helped him up, checking him over with a worried gaze. She had really beautiful green eyes. But aside from her eyes she looked just like Armin, with her gold hair, and delicate facial features.

“I’m ok mama” he assured, feeling a bit embarrassed.

His mother brushed the dust off his brand new school uniform, sighing. “What am I going to do with you?” she asked, but she obviously couldn’t help the small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

Still feeling slightly abashed, and wanting to quickly put the incident behind him, he presented the papier-mâché object to his mother, a blush creeping onto his face. “I made this for you, mama” he said in a soft voice. “It’s a cat.”

“Oh, of course it is!” his mother said in a happy voice, taking it from him. “It’s lovely, Armin! Did you make it in class today?” He nodded, smiling at how happy she seemed. His mother was very charming and very beautiful. Her happiness was infectious. “Well, let’s keep it in your bag until we get home” she said, standing up straight again.

She gestured for Armin to turn around, and opened his rucksack to put the “cat” inside. Then she offered him her hand, which he gladly placed his own in, and together they began to walk toward the school gate.

From not so far away, he heard the voice of one of his classmates. “Mama!” she giggled. Armin turned his head to see a little girl with brunette pigtails rush into the arms of a man who looked about the same age as his mother. The man looked like the little girl, for sure. He smiled at her.

“How was school, baby?” he asked.

“Armin”

His thoughts were interrupted by his mother’s voice. When he looked up at her she was looking at him in concern. “Are you ok sweetie?” she asked. “You seem quiet.”

He looked over at the little girl again, who noticed his attention this time. She grinned at him, waving. “Bye-bye, Armin!” she said loudly.

He waved back, hesitantly. “Bye-bye” he said.

“That’s my friend, Armin” he could hear the little girl tell the man as he and his mother continued to walk away.

“Is that a friend of yours?” his mother asked. He nodded silently in response. “Did you make a lot of friends during your first day of school?”

Armin felt a little lump in his throat, and he shook his head. The little girl had been really kind to him, but Armin hadn’t played much with anyone else. He wanted to, but it was so hard to talk to people. He just wanted to read some books in a quiet place.

“No” he said in a shaky voice.

“Don’t worry! You will!” his mother chirped. “You’re smart and kind. Lots of kids will want to be your friend.”

He nodded, a smile forming on his face again.

They walked for a while toward their home, taking a detour through the marketplace. It was pretty lively at this time of the day. But, overall the marketplace was a drab place. The cloth awnings over the different merchant booths were faded and tattered. Some booths had little to sell. Even the goods were largely basic. Roots and onions, potatoes and rice. It was hard to get goods from beyond the walls that kept them in Shiganshina. At five years old Armin had never even been beyond those walls before.

A little boy in tattered clothing ran out in front of them, his hands outstretched. He looked so hungry and tired, which made Armin feel sad.

“Please, ma’am” the boy said to Armin’s mother. “Please, do you have any change to spare?”

His mother shook her head, her brow wrinkling with sadness. “I’m so sorry” she said. “I-I don’t have anything to give you.”

As quickly as he came he was gone. His mother looked down at Armin, clutching his hand a bit tighter. “We should be thankful we have it so well” she said with a tight smile. “We’re very fortunate, Armin.”

Armin didn’t really understand, but followed her as she continued the journey homeward. Once again his thoughts turned to the man he had seen with his classmate.

“Mama” he said. “Can I ask a question?”

“You don’t need to ask permission” she chuckled. “What is it sweetie?”

“Hmmm” he hummed, thinking. “At school, my friend… you saw, remember? She was with that man. And she called him mama. But he’s a man. Can a man be a mama?”

“I guess anyone can have their children call them whatever they want” she said. “But actually, Armin, he’s an Omega.”

Armin cocked his head to the side a little in confusion. “An Omega…?” he asked. He was pretty sure he had heard that word before, but he couldn’t remember.

She stopped, crouching down next to him. “Do you remember when the boy who lives next door was really sick? He was presenting.”

Armin wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded frightening. “W-what’s that? Does it hurt?” he asked.

She laughed a little. “I guess” she said. “It certainly doesn’t feel good. But I wouldn’t say it hurts, really.” She waved her hands around at the crowd around them. “There are three presentations, Armin. There are Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Daddy and I are Betas. Most people are. But some people are Alphas. Sometimes they’re extra strong. Sometimes they’re not. But they… they smell different. And they act different. Sometimes.”

“Smell different?” he asked. He felt more and more curious as his mother spoke.

“You won’t smell it until you’re a little older” she said. “Everyone has a special smell that is all their own.”

“Do I smell good?” he asked in a hopeful voice.

She pulled him into a big hug. “You smell so so so good!” she said. “The best!” She began to tickle him, making Armin burst into a fit of giggles. Finally she let him go.

“Mama” he asked. “What about Omegas? Do they smell different too?”

“Yes, sweetie” she said, standing again. She took his hand, and they started to walk again. “Omegas usually smell extra nice. And they’re very, very special. They’re rare – that means there aren’t many of them. And Omega men can have babies, like how I had you.”

Armin wanted to ask more, but she put a finger over her lips, smiling at him. “That’s all for now” she said. “I promise someday you’ll know more about all that. Come on, let’s hurry home. We’re having stew for dinner.”

 

* * *

 

Present Day

 

“Armin! Wake up!”

“Huh?” He sat up in bed, looking around his room frantically. Jean was standing in the door, with his hands on his hips, frowning.

“You’re going to be late!” he said, pointing at the clock. Armin glanced at it. 5:45.

“Oh no!” he said, quickly scrambling out of bed. He pushed past Jean, and rushed into the washroom.

Their washroom, like the rest of their apartment, was old and cramped, but they did their best to keep it clean. Armin splashed a bit of water onto his face, grabbing a towel to pat it dry. When he was done he opened up the mirrored medicine cabinet, grabbing a blue jar. Inside was a thick, white cream, which Armin scooped a generous amount of onto his fingertips. Reaching behind him, to the back of his neck, and lifting his bobbed blonde hair up with his other hand, he massaged the cream into the skin of his neck, covering his scent glands completely. He put the jar in the cabinet again, pulling out a pill bottle. He opened it, shaking one large blue pill into his hand.

Three cups, labeled “Armin”, “Jean”, and “Marco” were sitting on the counter. He grabbed his cup, filling it up with tap water, and popped the large pill into his mouth. Quickly he downed it with the water, grimacing. Taking suppressants was never fun. They were so huge that Armin was always afraid he would choke on one.

_Better than going into heat_ , he reminded himself.

He quickly brushed his teeth and hair, before rushing back to his room. Jean was in there, rummaging through his closet, and pulling out a shirt to match a pair of brown trousers already laying on Armin’s bed.

“Jean, stop” he whined. “What are you, my mom?”

“Stop complaining and get dressed!” he grumbled, tossing the white button up shirt in his hands at Armin, who just barely caught it. “You want to catch that train or not?”

Armin sighed, and quickly slipped out of his faded striped pajamas. He pulled on the shirt, his fingers fumbling a bit with the buttons. “How did I sleep in so late?” he asked woefully.

“I don’t know. It might be because you stay up all night reading” Jean said, sarcasm lacing his words.

Armin shot the other a sharp look, snatching the trousers off his bed. “I’m studying for the university exam” he said. “I need to study so the information stays fresh.”

Jean’s face softened, and he sighed. “Well, do it on the train or something, ok? Don’t let it affect your health.”

He grabbed a blue cardigan off the hanger in his closet, tossing it at him. “Here” he said. “I trust you can pick out your own socks.”

Minutes later Armin was bounding into the small kitchen. Marco was at the sink, cleaning some dishes from his and Jean’s breakfast, and nodded to the old, rickety wooden table in the middle of the room. The table was surrounded by four mismatched wooden chairs, and covered with an old, patched up tablecloth. Marco had made Armin breakfast, and had put it at his usual place at the table.

“It’s just toast and an egg, and coffee” he said. “They’re cold now, sorry”

“That’s fine. Thanks Marco” Armin said. He took a big bite out of the toast, followed by a huge gulp of coffee. He was finished with the whole thing in less than three minutes.

Armin moved to clear his dishes, but Marco came over and took them from him. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be late if you don’t hurry” Marco said.

“Thank you!” Armin said.

Marco smiled, taking the dishes to the sink. “Be safe out there today” he said, suddenly sounding a bit more worried. “I hear that some of the local gangs have been Omega hunting in some of the local neighborhoods lately.” Armin nodded solemnly. A number of Omega in Shiganshina had been disappearing lately.

“I’ll be careful” he promised. “I’m going now!”

“Have a nice day” Marco said from the sink.

“You too!”

Their apartment was pretty small. They didn’t have a living room, just a kitchen. The apartment was technically a one bedroom, but Jean and Marco were living in what was supposed to be the living room, and Armin was in the small bedroom. It was cramped, but the hall and kitchen were relatively uncluttered, and the three of them tried to keep it nice.

Jean worked in Maria, not so far outside the walls, and Marco worked right down the street at Mr. Pixis’s bakery. Neither of them had nearly as long of a commute as Armin did.

At the entry of the apartment, Armin slipped on his old, worn shoes. They were getting pretty beaten up, weren’t they? Maybe he should start saving up for a new pair. Or maybe Jean could get him a defective sample at the clothing factory he worked at. Armin couldn’t remember if they made shoes or not though. He grabbed his worn out brown messenger bag, and left.

How fast did he need to hurry to catch his train? Armin didn’t own a watch, but luckily the post office was across the street from his apartment, and had a large clock on its exterior. From the landing outside their apartment, on the second floor, he peered across the street at the large clock. 6:00. He was still running behind, but he’d been faster at getting ready than he expected. Quickly he descended the stairs of the apartment building, and started to make his way down the street.

Mr. Pixis was outside his bakery, opening up shop for the day. “Morning Armin!” he called.

“Good morning!” Armin replied.

Armin rushed through the streets of the Shiganshina ward, clutching his bag a little closer to him as he did. You never knew who might come out of nowhere and try to take your bag. Armin, as an Omega, was an especially prime target for theft.

As he passed an alleyway something caught his eye, making him look in for a moment. Immediately he regretted it. There was a man pressed up against the wall of the alley, his head thrown back, and his pants around his knees. In front of him was a scantily clad young man. He was a petite brunette, with rather pretty features, and looked like he was probably around the same age as Armin. He was crouched down before the man, with his mouth -

The boy’s eyes turned and looked at Armin, startling him. But he made no move to stop his ministrations. Armin didn’t realize he must have stopped, and had been staring. He felt mortified at having been caught doing such a thing. The boy, on the other hand, didn’t look embarrassed at all. He continued on with his work, also continuing to watch Armin with curiosity, out of the corner of his eye. The fact that he was disconnected enough from what he did to pay attention to Armin at all unsettled him.

“Hey” the man said, grabbing the boy’s hair. “Look at me”.

Once again an electric jolt of surprise ran through him, and Armin ran as fast as he could away from there. That boy had definitely been an Omega. Armin had been too far away to tell by scent, but he could still tell. He was built pretty small, like Armin, and like most Omega males. That, and Omegas were more likely to prostitute themselves like that than Alphas or Betas.

Things were so hard for Omegas. There were so many laws holding them back. But he guessed that ending up like that boy was probably better than some of the less than savory alternatives. He shivered, not wanting to think about it anymore. Armin was very fortunate and very privileged, and it wasn’t something he wanted to take for granted.

He was worried that since he was running late the line at the gate checkpoint would be long, but thankfully it wasn’t. He looked around the crowd of soldiers and Shiganshina residents, spotting Annie at one of the desks, and jumped into her line. It was shorter than the others. Most people were afraid of her, but Armin wasn’t, so he made sure to stand in her line whenever she was on duty.

As he drew closer and closer to the desk he fished his paper visa, and his green passbook from his bag. His stomach felt like it was full of butterflies as he finally reached the front of the line. He caught a pleasant smelling scent on the air, and it made him smile. Annie was an Alpha. Normally Alpha scents were heavy and powerful. Annie’s was too, but something about it smelled unique. It wasn’t as overbearing as a lot of other Alpha scents were. He liked it.

“Good morning, Annie!” he said.

Annie was normally pretty stoic, even for a soldier. But she was awfully nice to Armin, so he didn’t mind. Annie was much kinder than a lot of the other soldiers. And he couldn’t help but think sometimes about how strong she looked in her uniform. The white pants, high brown boots, and tan jacket made her look so dignified, and….

Armin mentally shook away the thought. He promised himself he wasn’t going to think of Annie like that anymore. It wasn’t allowed, after all.

She gave him a small smile. “Good morning” she said in the same serious tone she always used. “Passbook please”. He handed his passbook and visa over to her, as usual. She didn’t even glance at the visa. She had seen it so many times already. Instead the grabbed the passbook, and flipped it open. The passbook was full of lines of two vertical boxes. In the morning, when people with working visas left, they would stamp the top box with a red stamp. When he came home from work Armin would get his passbook back, and they would stamp the bottom box with a green stamp. “Armin, you’ve only got a few weeks on this thing left” she scolded. “You need to go to the city office and renew your passbook.”

“O-oh, ok”, he said with a nod. “Thanks. I’ll do that”

There were three long wooden boxes next to her, just wide enough for the books, and sorted by color. The box with the blue passbooks was by far the most full. Blue was the color of passbooks for Betas. The red passbook box was about half as full as the blue one. Those were the Alpha passbooks. The last box, where the green passbooks went, was the Omega box. There were only two books in there. She placed Armin’s passbook in that box.

“That’s a nice sweater” she commented.

Armin felt his heart leap in his chest, and knew he was probably blushing. “Thanks” he said sheepishly. “It’s new. From Jean’s factory.”

She nodded. “Those two certainly look after you” she said with another small smile. She waved him through. “Ok, have a good day at work.”

“Thank you, Annie!” he said, running off toward the gate.

Shiganshina was surrounded by a massive wall, like most smaller districts were in the city. Just beyond the checkpoint desks was a gate leading in and out of the district. It was manned by several soldiers. Soldiers also patrolled the walls around the district, making sure no one escaped. You couldn’t go in or out of the ward without proper paperwork. Anyone from outside could get in with just their normal citizen registration, and stay as long as they wanted. For anyone born inside, you couldn’t leave without some form of visa. And those were not easy to come by.

After all, Shiganshina was a district of criminals. Armin himself was a criminal by blood association.

The other soldiers were not as kind to him as Annie was, normally. When he reached the gate a tan soldier with dark hair looked down at him with a scowl. “Papers” he said in a gruff tone. Armin fumbled to show the man his visa. The man looked over it for a few moments before grunting again. “Alright. Move along.”

The train stop was the last one on the line, and was waiting for him right outside the gate of Shiganshina. A locomotive stood there, large and imposing. The engine part of the train was black, while the cars were bright red. He normally tried to get there before the train arrived, but as long as he got there before it left it would be fine. He probably wasn’t going to have a problem with seating in his compartment.

He quickly boarded his train, in the first car. Each car had a sign on it. Some had signs saying “First Class”. Others had ones saying “Free Seating”. Armin couldn’t afford first class, where he could sit anywhere he liked, so he had to sit in the first car. The sign on the car read “Unaccompanied Omega Seating/Free Seating”. As he approached he flashed his visa to the station worker standing by the door. The only benefit (if he could call it that) of being relegated to the “Unaccompanied Omega Seating” section was that he got to ride for free. They wanted the few Omegas who worked to be able to do so in the inner districts, like he did.

_How are all the Alphas living further into the city supposed to meet us and sweep us off our feet otherwise?_ he thought sarcastically.

The Unaccompanied Omega car was actually only half a car. The train car was specially built to separate them from the rest of the other half of the car with a wall, and a door with no window. Once, when his parents were alive, he had taken the train with them, and he’d seen what the other train cars looked like. He had been very small then, however, and that was before he had presented as an Omega. He’d never seen the inside of the other cars since then.

It was a rather small space, but then again, Omegas were pretty rare. And even then, a lot of parents, spouses, and guardians didn’t allow their Omegas to travel anywhere by themselves. It was pretty radical for Armin to be by himself on this train almost every day. On the off chance that there was an influx of Omega passengers, he’d heard that they changed the whole car to an Unaccompanied Omega car. But, he had never seen it for himself.

He found a seat by the window easily. There were maybe ten other Omegas there in the car. Half of them were other workers he recognized from seeing every day. Just seconds after he sat down the train whistle blew, and they began to move.

Armin lazily watched the world go by outside his window, his forehead resting against the edge of it. He knew he should be studying some more, but he was really sleepy. Jean was right, he should start to study more on his commute. He was just so bad at getting himself to do that kind of thing. Armin was a brilliant student in his day, loved to study, and was a pro at organizing and making plans for things. But as for getting to bed on time? Not so much.

He dozed off for a little while, only to be awoken by a hand shaking his shoulder. He woke with a start. A train conductor was standing over him. “Excuse me” the man said. “Papers please” Armin looked out the window, and realized they had already reached the edge of wall between Maria and Rose. Quickly he pulled out his visa, showing it to the conductor. Satisfied, the man moved on to the next passenger.

People’s visas or identifications indicated their travel allowance. This depended on their presentation, and their status as citizens. Marco was originally from Jinae, a district in the south of Rose, and he was allowed to travel anywhere in the city or country he liked. Jean never talked about where he was originally from, but his family was sent to Shiganshina when he was a child. His is work visa was only for traveling as far as the inside of Maria. Armin held a much coveted work visa, which allowed him to go all the way into the inner city, Sina. For Omegas they were especially adamant about checking paperwork, in case someone was on the run.

Eventually they started again, and things were black outside the windows for a few moments while the train passed under the wall. Their city was actually separated into three different smaller cities, built around one another. Armin was technically from Maria, but he lived in a walled off district called Shiganshina. It was a terrible place to live, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Maria was built around Rose, which was built around Sina. Each area had their own districts and smaller wards inside. It could get a bit confusing, so people often referred to where they lived by which direction it was in – like “South Maria” or “East Rose”. And in the center of all of the city was the palace – home of the king. That was why all the walls were built around the inner city. So that in the case of an enemy attack, the citizens of Eldia could better protect their noble king, and the two princes, with their lives.

King Grisha and the heir apparent, Prince Zeke were rather public, and Armin had seen images of them many a time in his life. Prince Eren, the younger son however, was quite hidden from the public. Some said it was to protect him from danger, as next in line as heir. Some said it was to hide him from those who had killed his mother, Queen Carla, years before. Still, others thought maybe he was just sickly. Regardless, the identity of the younger prince was kept hush-hush. It didn’t stop him from being a figure of interest though. Eren, like Zeke before him, had become a popular name for children born around Armin’s time.

When he was younger Armin had wondered what the young prince looked like. Sometimes he still did. He couldn’t help it. It was interesting to wonder about. He knew that he had to be around Armin’s own age.

Armin dozed off again, waking only when it was time to check papers again at the boarder of Rose and Sina. He willed himself not to fall asleep again after that, watching the scenery go by. Sina was quite obviously a much wealthier place than Maria, or Rose, and definitely more so than where he came from. Townhouses and manors, with beautifully kept laws sprinkled the outer parts of the city. As they approached the shopping district the buildings became much more condensed, but still beautiful and clean.

At last they reached Armin’s train stop. He yawned as he departed the train. It had been so nice to sleep through most of the hour and a half train ride. He felt much more refreshed now.

He didn’t need to worry about being mugged as much here, though the occasional thug or beggar from Underground sometimes appeared. He leisurely made his way down the streets of Sina. Sina was a really beautiful place. In the merchant district there were so many nice shops and cafes. A lot of beautifully dressed people were wandering around, looking in shop windows, and enjoying their time out and about.

The bookstore he worked in wasn’t so far from the station. It was a quaint looking place from the storefront. But, it was one of the best bookshops in the whole city.

He saw a shop up ahead and across the street, with a sign above it that read “Fritz books”. Perfect! He was going to make it just in time. Just as he was about to begin to cross the street, to his right another young man with brunette hair came rushing around the corner, crashing right into Armin, and sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

The boy quickly jumped to his feet. “I am so sorry” he said.

A bit confused by what had just happened, Armin looked up at the boy, who was brushing his clothes off. The brunette’s gaze caught his, and his eyes widened a little bit. They stayed like that for a moment, the brunette young man looking at Armin with a wide eyed, curious gaze, and Armin awkwardly sitting on the ground. Since he was still standing over him, Armin assumed, for a moment, that he was going to help him up or something, but he didn’t. He seemed distracted.

The boy was lithe, not much taller than Armin, and he looked like he was probably around the same age. His brown hair was cropped short and neat around his ears. His clothes were well tailored and looked like they were made of fine materials, which made sense. This was Sina, after all. People living here had money to be fashionable. Armin felt a little out of sorts here, in his tattered shoes and his ordinary looking clothes. He tried to dress as nicely as possible to fit in as best as he could while at work. Even then he still stuck out enough that he tried to avoid drawing attention to himself in Sina. No matter how many new clothes Jean got him, they were still defective samples from a factory in Maria. People here often looked down on people in the outer part of the city, and would be especially judgmental if they were to find out exactly what part of Maria he was from.

Armin was starting to feel a little antsy, still sitting awkwardly on the ground. The boy was still just standing there, looking at him with that awe-struck looking expression. Armin was used to being looked down at, or leered at, but not that look. It made him feel self-conscious. He looked into the boy’s eyes again. They were a nice green color, and sort of reminded Armin of his mother’s eyes.

Finally, he realized that the boy wasn’t going to make a move to help him. He’d already been sitting there, being stared at, long enough to make him uncomfortable. As he began to pick himself off the ground the other boy finally seemed to come to his senses, offering Armin his hand.

“Are you alright?” the boy asked in concern. Even if he seemed odd, he still had a nice voice, Armin thought. He looked warily at the outstretched hand, not sure if he should really take it or not, since the boy seemed a bit off. However, his parents had forcefully instilled excellent manners in him when they were still alive, and he wouldn’t have felt right pushing the hand away. Hesitantly, he placed his own hand in the one that was outstretched to him.

“Y-yes” Armin said quickly, letting the boy help him up. “I’m ok.”

He suddenly caught the boy’s scent on the air. It was musky and seductive, and strong. Definitely the scent of an Alpha. Armin hated to admit it, but it made him shiver a bit. He blamed biology. It wasn’t his fault that Omegas were more affected by the scents of Alphas.

What a powerful smell, he thought. Was it coming from this boy? But he looked so small! He looked like he might have been a Beta! If someone had told Armin he was an Omega, he wouldn’t have been too shocked by that either. Was he really an Alpha?

“I’m sorry for that” the boy said, still holding Armin’s hand in his, and still looking at him with that weird gaze. “I’m glad you’re alright”. He then paused a moment. Those green eyes roamed over Armin’s features. For an awkwardly long stretch of time he stood there, not yet releasing the hand in his grasp. The Alphas gaze traveled to their joined hands, and he seemed, suddenly, as though he was lost in thought. Armin could feel the other young man’s thumb start to slowly run back and forth over his skin of his hand.

Oh shit, had he caught his scent? Ugh, maybe Armin hadn’t put enough cream over his scent glands before he left home. Being a working Omega could often get annoying exactly for this reason. Single Alphas could become pretty pushy when nothing was done about Omega scents. The cream couldn’t cover up his smell completely, but it certainly got a lot of them off his back. He gently pulled his hand out of the other’s grasp, bringing the attention of the Alpha back to reality. He’d be late to work at this rate.

“Well, thanks for helping me up” he said. “Goodbye.”

The brunette nodded, his eyes still a bit wide, and a blush creeping onto his face. “O-ok. Bye.”

Armin passed him, continuing on his way to the bookshop. _What a weirdo_ , he thought, starting to cross to the other side of the street.

The front door jingled as he entered, and Ymir looked up from behind the counter, where she had been looking over some documents. “Good morning” he said, closing the door behind him. She frowned at him.

“You’ve got a new sweater” she noted.

“Yeah, Jean gave it to me. It’s from his factory.”

“It’s dorky” she said bluntly. Armin didn’t mind. Ymir was like that. She didn’t mean anything by it.

She slid a paper across the table, and Armin took it, scanning it quickly. It was his to-do list for the day. “Here” she said. “Mina finished most of the reorganization before the shop opened, but we just got some deliveries.” She gestured to a pile of boxes next to her. Armin sighed. If they were all still here that meant he was going to have to be the one to carry them all to back of the shop. He wasn’t very strong, so lifting heavy boxes wasn’t his forte.

“They came late today,” she explained. “Mina took some boxes, and is doing inventory on them now, and pricing them. I need you to bring the rest of the boxes to the back. Then and I need you to put the new volumes that she’s finished working with on the shelves. There are some restocks I need you to fill out the paperwork for too, so I’ll be putting you in the back room a while, and bringing Mina out to cover you on the floor.”

Armin nodded, his blue eyes still reading over the list of tasks for him to do that day.

“And also…”

He looked up, and saw Ymir was gesturing to the window. The brunette boy from moments ago was still visible a little ways down the street, where he had crashed into Armin, looking in the direction of the bookshop. Seeing Ymir bring attention to him seemed to cause him to become self-aware, and he quickly moved along.

“Is that your boyfriend?” she asked.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m happily single” he said.

“I saw him holding your hand” she said, wiggling an eyebrows. “Looked pretty romantic to me.”

“It wasn’t”. He groaned, but he couldn’t help but smile a little. “He knocked me over by accident. He’s not my boyfriend. You know I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good. I like you, and I don’t want you getting in trouble”, she said, returning to her paperwork. “That, and he looks even dorkier than your sweater.”


	2. Chapter 2

15 years before

Prince Eren sat alone on his bed, sniffling, and wiping his tears away with his little hands. He waited as patiently as he could for someone to come and fetch him, but he was becoming anxious over how solitary he had been for the past few days. He had never been alone for so long before.

He felt tiny in this big, lonely room. It was a lavish bedroom, attached to an equally luxurious apartment. The panels of the walls were cream with gold molding, and the ceiling was painted blue and white, to look like a beautiful sky. There was a huge fireplace against one of the walls, with green sofas and chairs with gold arm rests and legs around it. There were huge bookshelves with all his picture books, and toys were scattered around the room on the floor. Bright light poured in from tall windows on either side of his bed. Though it was daylight, and the sunshine flickered into his room, Eren had never felt more like he was in darkness.

His new bed was much too big. Bigger than anything a five year old could ever need. Its size only added to his feelings of smallness. Eren wanted to close the green curtains that hung around it, and hide away from the world forever.

His father, the king, had decided, now that Eren’s mother was no longer with them, that it was time for Eren to have his own apartments. He should be happy, King Grisha had said. Mikasa was getting her own rooms too. His older brother Zeke had been even older than Eren when he moved into his own royal apartments. But he wasn’t happy. Eren had never felt so lonely.

He wanted his mother to hold him, but she never would again. If she was here Eren would still be in Mikasa and his room in the King’s apartments, and his mother would play with Eren, and scold him for talking back to her.

He looked down at his finely made black clothing. Eren noticed that his clothing had started to become rumpled while he was sitting. He got up on his knees, and clumsily attempted to pat down the wrinkles. If his mother was here, he thought, she would scold him for this too. Never before did he ever think he would rather be reprimanded than not.

“Prince Eren”

There was a young guard standing in the door, peering in at him, who Eren didn’t recognize. He was much younger than most of the other guards. Perhaps only in his late teens, or early twenties. The guard stepped inside. He had hair cut in a bowl cut style, dark eyes, and a stony face. It made Eren feel nervous and shy. The boy didn’t seem very friendly.

“I’m here to escort you to the funeral, your majesty” the young man said. He bowed deeply to Eren, making him feel awkward. Normally, since he was young, the guards were much less formal toward him. He wasn’t sure if he liked this.

“Where is Oluo?” he asked in a concerned voice. Oluo had been he and his mother’s guard for almost all of his life. He was confused by his absence.

The young guard stared at him blankly before walking toward him and the bed. He slid his hands under Eren’s arms, lifting him into the air, before placing him on the floor. “We’ll be late if we don’t hurry”, he said. “Please put on your shoes, your majesty.”

Eren walked over to his new walk-in closet. Inside, under his dozens of shirts, pants, and coats, little shoes were sitting on small racks, circling the bottom. He picked up a black pair that his maid had chosen for him earlier that morning.

Eren slipped his shoes on, and bent down, taking the laces into his hands. He could do this. He had done it the other day, hadn’t he?

After a minute or so of looping the laces around each other to no avail, Eren was beginning to feel frustrated and angry. He grabbed another shoe from the rack beside him, throwing it violently across the length of the closet, fuming.

“Prince Eren?” the guard asked, coming inside. The presence of the stranger immediately sobered Eren's temper tantrum. The young man's eyes zeroed in on the untied shoelaces.

“H-help me” Eren said. “I f-forgot how”.

With a sigh the guard bent down. “Stand up”, he ordered. He made quick work of his shoes. When he was finished he stayed where he was on the floor, his gaze almost at the same level as Eren’s. “Tomorrow we will practice tying shoes” he said. “A prince must be able to do such things on his own.”

Eren nodded, and the young man stood. “Come, your majesty”. He began to walk ahead of Eren, obviously expecting the young boy to follow.

In the corridors of his new apartments Eren was beginning to feel overwhelmed again. He was not familiar with this place, which, along with the funeral, made him feel a great sense of dread. He ran after the guard, slipping his hand into the other’s bigger one. The young man stopped a moment, first looking at their joined hands, and then at Eren, before continuing to lead him.

Before Eren knew it he was being loaded into a black coach in front of the palace.

“The others are already on their way. Here. Put this on him” another guard told the dark haired man, as a footman helped Eren into the coach.

A black mask that would cover the whole face was pushed into the hands of Eren’s new companion. The young man inspected it with a frown. “I’m not putting this on the prince” he said bluntly.

“Those are our orders” the guard responded.

The young guard furrowed his brow. “Don’t be stupid. Erwin would never give such a ridiculous order.”

“Not Erwin” the man said, shaking his head. “Orders from the top”

The dark haired man looked even angrier that the older guard had questioned him. “Shadis wouldn’t have time for this bullshit either” he snapped.

The older guard lowered voice, obviously getting impatient. “No, the top. This order was issued by the king. Things will be changing for Prince Eren now.”

While Eren settled in, the guard whispered something to the young man. The younger one seemed to relent, but his lips were pressed into a firm line, and he looked very unamused.

Inside the coach the older boy attempted to secure the black mask onto Eren. The child prince, however, was at the end of his rope. He felt anger boiling in him, and grabbed the mask out of the guard’s hands, tossing it away, sending it bouncing off the wall of the coach.

“I don’t want that!” the yelled, trying to push the guard away from him. “I won’t! I won’t!”

“Stop being a spoiled brat” the young man growled, beginning to wrestle with Eren, attempting to restrain him. No one, aside from his mother, had ever spoken to Eren in that way before, and it made him see red. He balled up his small fists and began to punch them the other in the chest, over and over again. The guard, however, didn't seem injured by it at all, fueling Eren's anger.

“Don’t touch me!” he screamed. “Let me go! I won’t wear it!” Tears were welling up in his big, green eyes.

Eventually he began to get too tired to fight the guard anymore. He began to cry in heavy sobs, making feeble attempts to swipe at the other. “Leave me alone!” he said. “I want my mama! I want her back!”

Finally exhausting himself, Prince Eren lowered his head in defeat. It had been a truly awful day. No, an awful few days. His mother was gone, his father and Zeke had barely let him see them, and now this strange man was bossing him around. Eren just wanted to disappear.

After a few moments of silence the young man reached out to pat the top of the young boy’s head. Eren, desperate for some form of affection, quickly threw himself into the arms of the guard, crying into the fabric of his military uniform. The guard hesitantly brought his arms up and around Eren. Looking into his face, the little boy could see that he looked incredibly uncomfortable, as if he wasn’t used to touching other people.

“My name is Levi” he told Eren. “I’m your new guard.”

“Levi?” Eren asked.

“You can’t cry now” Levi continued, picking up the discarded mask off the coach seat. “And you can’t make a scene or draw attention to yourself at the funeral. The king has ordered that you are no longer to be seen by those outside the palace.”

“Why?” Eren whimpered.

Levi was quiet. “I don’t know” he admitted. “But, we must follow orders. When we go home, you can cry as much as you need to.” Sniffling, Eren nodded.

Levi pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiping the tears from Eren’s face. “Look, now you've made a mess of yourself” he sighed. After wiping away most of the tears from the boy's face, a serious expression came onto his face. “I’m going to keep you safe” he said. “I promise, Prince Eren.”

* * *

 

Present

Eren watched the back of the blonde Omega as he walked away from him. He was still a little frazzled by their accidental encounter.

He hadn't meant to knock the boy over, of course. Eren usually tried to stay as unnoticeable as possible during his rare adventures away from the palace. If his father found out he had gotten caught up in any trouble he'd have Eren's head.

Him crashing into the blonde was just an accident. He had seen Levi a few streets away, and was trying to put some distance between them. Eren wasn't ready to go home yet. He wasn't supposed to be there on his own. Normally, on the rare occasions he went out, Levi accompanied him. That day, however, was special, and Eren really just wanted some alone time to think.

He had given Levi the slip when the other thought he was practicing violin. Eren was awful at playing violin, but King Grisha insisted he should learn, even though the efforts to make him a decent musician had been all for naught. Levi hated listening to it so he stayed far away during his practices.

Eren knew all the ways to sneak out of the palace. Getting in again, however, was far more difficult. But it was alright, because Levi always hunted him down and dragged him home eventually.

He caught sight of the Omega's face again as the other turned to cross the street. Gold hair bounced around his delicate, adorable face. His bright eyes, looking around the street, were the most beautiful shade of blue. Like the sky. Eren was still blushing from their run-in. The omega was very, very cute. Eren didn't get a lot of chances to meet Omegas. He didn't usually get a chance to meet anyone, actually. But especially not Omegas, and especially not ones as cute as the one he had just met. Or ones with such nice scents, for that matter. Eren felt a tingling sensation run through him when he thought about it. It was such an attractive, comforting smell. But, he couldn't help but think that it felt familiar. Impossible, he thought. There was no way he would have forgotten a face or a scent like that. Right?

The young man walked into the shop, Fritz Books. Eren watched him begin to make small talk with the woman sitting behind the front desk of the shop. It seemed like the blonde knew this woman well. Did he go there often? Eren scanned the boy again through the window. He looked so small and fragile looking. Eren knew it would be silly to assume he actually was, though. After all, Levi was also an Omega and could kick his ass. He was the strongest member of the palace guards.

Suddenly, both the woman and the blonde turned their heads in his direction, bringing the young Alpha back to his senses. This was stupid. He was wasting time here. For all he knew Levi had gained on him by now. Quickly he hurried on his way again.

For a few hours Eren wandered the streets of Sina, hiding away in shops and alleys, and always keeping an eye out for his bodyguard. It probably wouldn't be much longer now until he was caught. But he was enjoying his small window of freedom as much as he could. He enjoyed watching all the common folk shopping and socializing with one another. It was a life he couldn't relate to much, but he found it incredibly fascinating.

Eventually his stomach started to growl. It was probably time to stop and eat some lunch, he thought. All of the sudden, however, it occurred to him that he had forgotten to take any money with him.

Dammit! He felt stupid. Of course he needed money. What had he been thinking? Eren wasn't used to carrying money around, since he rarely shopped or went into Sina, and anything he ordered from the palace was paid for without him having to think about it at all.

He began to search through his pockets, hoping that maybe he had something in them. He found, to his luck, a single, small gold piece. It wasn't enough to stop in a restaurant, but he could probably get some bread. He found a bread shop, and purchased a large, flakey, golden brown roll, which was still warm as he bit into it. The Alpha prince then stood outside of the shop, devouring his food, and watching people walk up and down the cobbled street.

“You think you're so clever” he heard a monotone voice say off to his side, as he popped the last of the bread into his mouth. A familiar, sweet Omega scent tickled his nose. Normally a scent like that would be enticing to Alphas, but it was making the prince feel instantly on edge. The scent did not exactly match very well with the temperament of the one it belonged to.

He turned, and Levi was standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, and an angry frown on his face. Even without his military uniform on, and though he was shorter than Eren, Levi was still intimidating when he was annoyed.

Eren swallowed the bread in his mouth. “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me” he said.

“Selfish brat” Levi said, grabbing Eren's shoulder, and steering him away from the bread shop. “You had half the guard in a frenzy this morning.”

“How long did it take you to notice I was gone?” Eren asked, a sly smile on his face.

Levi squeezed his shoulder a little too tightly, making Eren wince. “I will admit that running off while you were supposed to be practicing was a step above your usual schemes, Prince Eren. But don't think it will be happening again any time soon.”

He guided Eren in the direction of the square, eventually releasing his shoulder and walking in front of him. “Honestly” Levi said. “I would have thought you'd have grown out of this by twenty years old.”

As they neared the square Levi glanced over his shoulder. “You ran off today to visit her, did you not?” he asked. “I suppose we can do that now.”

Eren eyed him with suspicion. “How do you know I haven’t already been there?” he asked.

Levi looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Obviously I had a guard posted there, waiting for you. I’m not stupid.”

Towering above the square was a large and imposing cathedral. Eren smiled tightly at the grand church. He wasn’t particularly religious, and Eren wasn’t allowed to accompany his father or Zeke to the events held there. He only ever came for one reason. A chill suddenly came over him. He wondered if it was the early autumn air, or if it was the occasion. “

You’ll want to buy some flowers” Levi said as they stopped at the steps of the church.

Eren shuffled his feet awkwardly. “I... um...” he looked sheepishly at the ground. “I forgot to bring any money.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Hopeless” he said. He reached into his own pocket, withdrawing a coin purse. He took a few coins from the bag, giving them to Eren, who took them, looking away with embarrassment. The Alpha prince scanned the square, looking to see if anyone was selling flowers there that day. Almost immediately he spotted a cart pouring over with different blossoms, a small old woman next to it calling out to people to buy her wares.

Levi, meanwhile, went to speak to a man on the steps. Eren recognized him as one of the guards from the palace. Like Levi he was disguised in casual, off duty clothing. “Tell the others I’ve found him” Levi told the other man. “We’ll be returning soon. Tell them to send an inconspicuous coach to this square at around six. If possible, let’s try to keep this from reaching his majesty, the King.”

“Yes sir” the guard responded, with a small salute, before disappearing into the crowd.

“Six?” Eren asked. “We’re staying that long?”

“You’ve already dragged me out here today” Levi said. “We may as well make use of being here”. He gestured to the square, looking irritated. “Go get your flowers.”

Eren hurried to the cart, and began to examine all of the flowers for sale. There were so many that he wasn’t sure which to pick. Eren wasn’t very educated or interested in flowers, so he wasn’t sure which were appropriate for the occasion. He spotted some dahlias on the cart, which he recognized from those days before his mother died. She had liked them the most, he remembered. He settled on some red ones, and paid the woman for them, feeling satisfied.

Levi was waiting for him at the entrance of the cathedral.

It was cool and dimly lit inside the cathedral’s vestibule. An eerie silence filled the air, almost suffocating Eren. Such absence of sound made the already loud noise of the door closing behind them seem even louder.

An elderly priest must have heard them enter, and came shuffling out of the interior of the church. It was not one Eren recognized from previous visits. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at them. “Can I help you?” he asked.

Levi pulled a gold medallion from his pocket. Upon it was engraved the Wings of Freedom. Carrying such a medallion symbolized that Levi was an important servant to the crown, and commanded great respect. The priest’s eyes widened as he saw it, and he shrank back a little.

“This young man is a relative of the late Queen Carla” Levi said. “We could like to pay our respects at her resting place.”

“Y-yes, of course” the priest said, quickly taking a lamp from a table against the wall. With fumbling hands he lit it, and a small flame flickered to life. “Come this way, please”.

He led them into the nave of the cathedral. Two younger priests were lighting candles for the next service. They passed countless pews, meant for hundreds upon hundreds of people. Chandeliers, hanging from the arched ceiling, lit the room with soft light, which bounced off the marble of the floors, and the giant columns. The priest led them around the church’s alter, and toward the back of the great hall. There was a door there, inconspicuous looking, but with a lock on it. The priest took a set of keys from his robe, and unlocked it.

“We’ve been here before” Levi told the man. “We can get there alright on our own.”

The priest looked conflicted. Eren was sure that under normal circumstances he was not allowed to leave people alone in the royal crypt. However, it was hard to argue with someone bearing the insignia of the Wings of Freedom. “Are you sure?” the he said uncertainly.

Levi took the lamp from the priest’s grasp. “I insist” he said. His tone did change from its normal, dry nature, but it now held a slight air of authority that Eren knew well. It was the voice Levi used when he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I believe the boy would like some time with the Queen, undisturbed.”

Without giving the priest a chance to argue further, the dark haired guard motioned for Eren to follow him through the wooden doorway. A familiar staircase descended into the abyss of the crypt, the stairwell a dark, seemingly endless void.

“Watch your step” Levi warned him. “Really, you think they would install some electric lights down here.”

They descended in silence, which was only interrupted by the occasional sound of what sounded like rats in the distance. Eren hated this place. He hated all dark, lonely places.

The stairs led them into a large, and echoing chamber. It was big enough that, in the faint light of Levi’s lamp, they could only just make out the farthest reaches of the room. Dozens of tombs littered the chamber, each covered by an elegantly sculpted marble effigy of those who rested within. While there was quite a crowd of his ancestors in there, there was still plenty of empty space available for the future generations of the Yeager family line, and the crypt was not yet even half full.

He found his mother’s tomb easily – Eren could never forget the location of it. It rested next to one which did not yet have an effigy on top – the one that would someday belong to his father. On the other side of King Grisha’s future grave rested the tomb of his first wife, and Zeke’s mother, the late Queen Dina. Levi hung the lamp on a hook hanging from the ceiling, while Eren approached the grave of his mother with the dahlias. Carefully he placed them on top of the white marble carved in her visage. He took a moment to take in the image of her in eternal repose.

“15 years ago today” he sighed heavily. “Can you believe it?”

“I can” Levi replied bluntly. “I’ve been here for all of it.”

“I can hardly even remember her voice anymore” he admitted. “I wonder when it will fade away completely.”

Levi paused. “I suppose it’s not the voice, but the words it speaks, that are most important to remember” he finally said.

The effigy bore such a striking, realistic resemblance to his mother, and Eren was always in awe of it when he came here. It was truly a work of art. “Do you think she would be proud of me?” Eren asked in a low voice.

Levi thought a moment, frowning a little. “I didn’t know your mother, so I’m not sure. But, I don’t see why not. You’re a brat, but you haven’t become a criminal or anything.”

“I’m trying to be solemn here, Levi” Eren said, rolling his eyes.

“Right, right” Levi said. “I don’t know. That’s for you to decide, I suppose.”

The prince reached out to touch the marble carved to resemble his mother’s face. Flickers of fury began to spring to life inside him. His eyes wandered over the tomb, once again coming to rest on the dahlias. As the minutes passed his anger developed into a burning flame, his heart alight with passion and rage.

“Those damn Marleyans” he said through gritted teeth, looking at the bouquet. His fists were clenched at his sides. “It’s their fault. They took her away from me. And what have I done to avenge her? Absolutely nothing.” He turned to face Levi, his eyes blazing in the light of the lamp. Raw hatred coursed through his veins, and through every fiber of his being.

“I want them all to die” he said, his temper flaring further. “Every last one of them. I want them all to suffer for what they did to her. Why can’t I fight?”

Levi, having weathered years of Eren’s tantrums and rages, remained unfazed by the prince’s sudden outburst. “You can’t” he replied simply. “Because your father says so”.

“Mikasa is becoming a soldier!” Eren objected, his voice rising, and echoing off the walls of the hallow chamber. “When we go to war with Marley she’s going to fight for us, and make our kingdom proud! And what am I supposed to do? Sit at home in the palace? What good does that do?”

He was so angry that he didn’t know what to do with himself. No one understood him. No one understood how much he wanted to fight for her. Eren wouldn’t be able to rest until the entire nation of Marley suffered as he had suffered. He was so overcome with rage that his body was beginning to shake.

Levi’s hands shot out, grabbing Eren’s shoulders,forcefully pulling the young man to him. His eyes, full of irritation, bore into those of the prince. “You need to calm down” he said in a chillingly low tone. “Stop acting like a brat.”

“Fuck off!” Eren yelled. “You can’t tell me what to do!”

Levi quickly lifted his knee, sending it right into Eren’s gut. The impact made Eren fall to the ground in pain, clutching his abdomen. “The hell I can’t” Levi said, still in a calm tone. “Who’s going to stop me, your father?”

Slowly, Eren began to sit up, reeling with shock.

“Is it really appropriate for a prince to be yelling about bloodshed and revenge at his mother’s grave? And in a church no less” Levi asked, disgust in his voice. “What would she say if she saw you acting this way?”

He was right. Eren felt a bit ashamed of himself. He drew his knees up to his chest, sitting there for a few minutes, with his back resting against the tomb. Nothing was said between the two after that, and the crypt was filled with a claustrophobic silence.

At last Levi gestured for Eren to stand up, and took the lamp off the hook. “Come, Prince Eren” he said. “Let’s leave this place. We've stayed here long enough. We should send someone to clean down here, it's positively filthy”.

They left the church quickly, before the elderly priest could ask any more questions about the purpose of their visit, or about who they were. Outside the square was as bright and lively as it was before, but something seemed less exciting about it to Eren now.

“While we’re here” Levi said, “I have some errands to run. And you’ll be coming with me”. Eren pouted, crossing his arms in protest. “I don’t want to run errands with you.”

“Oh, well that’s a shame” Levi said dryly. “I was looking forward to finishing that book I’ve been reading, and checking in on the training of the new guards with Erwin today, but I ended up having to go on a wild goose chase through the city. Looks like we’re both having a disappointing day, aren’t we?”

Eren didn’t have anything to protest with. Levi began walking away, and he had no choice but to follow after him. He was too close now. If he tried to make a run for it Levi would catch him in moments.

First Levi stopped in a watch shop, to drop off a pocket watch of his for repair. Eren waited outside, his arms crossed again as he leaned against the shop window. When the Omega was done in the watch shop, Eren followed him through the streets of Sina, until they reached a shop with flower boxes in the window, and a sign above it that read “Tailor”.

“Is this going to take a long time?” he whined.

Levi grabbed his wrist, pulling Eren after him. “It’ll take longer if you stand there on the sidewalk complaining.”

It turned out that Levi had two jackets that needed tailoring. He had apparently had them sent to the tailor to await his arrival ahead of time. It took what felt like forever.

“Why do we need to do this here?” Eren mumbled, slouched down on a sofa. “Why can’t we do this at…” he glanced at the tailor, who was busy with his work fitting Levi’s coat. “At home?” he finished. The palace had it’s own tailors and seamstresses on call whenever they needed them. There was no reason for this to be done here, or for Eren to spend an hour waiting for Levi’s coats to get taken in.

Levi gave him a look that told him he was crossing into some dangerous territory. “I like this place” he said. “That’s why.” Eren rested his head against the back of the sofa, in silent defeat.

It wasn’t too much longer before the coats were finished. Rather than arrange for them to be brought back to the palace, Levi opted to take them, making Eren hold one of the bags.

“How do you get off making a prince carry your bag?” Eren asked in a hushed voice, his fist clenched around the handle of the shopping bag.

Levi shrugged. “Even princes should carry bags now and then” he said simply. He gestured to a bakery up ahead that Eren recognized well. “Want to stop for something today?”

Eren suddenly felt much more excited. He and Levi stopped into the bakery nearly every time they came into the city. The Alpha prince wasn’t really supposed to eat a lot of sweets and pastries as a child, but Levi would always buy him something there, and it would be their secret. Often, when Levi took his days off, Eren would find a small bag full of cookies or small cakes hiding in his toy box, or under his pillow, after the guard returned.

Within ten minutes Eren was grinning, a bag of sugar cookies clutched in the one previously free hand.

“You know” Levi said, not looking back at him. “You didn’t need to run away today. If you had told me you wanted to visit your mother I would have taken you.”

Eren’s smile melted away, and his eyes fell to the ground. “I… I just wanted some time alone” he said.

Levi hummed at his response. “I see” he said. “You didn’t go there right away though. I thought for sure you would have gone directly to the cathedral.”

A smirk appeared on Eren’s face. “Does that mean I’m starting to outsmart you?”

“Don’t get cocky” Levi replied. “You fooled me once, but remember, I still found you in the end.”

Eren sighed. “I guess… I don’t know. I knew I was going there, but I wanted to put it off too.” He looked at Levi’s back up ahead of him. “It never really gets much easier, does it?” he asked in a small voice.

Levi didn’t answer right away, and Eren thought maybe he didn’t hear him, until finally he replied with “No. It doesn’t.”

The young prince continued to follow the shorter, darker haired man through the winding streets, until they came to a place which made his heart start to beat louder in his chest. Up ahead of them was Fritz Books, the same shop that Eren had seen the blonde boy disappear into earlier that morning. The event still made Eren feel a bit light headed when he thought about it.

“Are we going in there?” he asked quickly, stopping dead in his tracks.

Levi turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, we are. I reserved some books that were out of stock last week. They should have arrived by now.” His eyes scanned over Eren’s expression, and he gave him a suspicious look. “Why? Is there a problem?”

“No!” Eren said, a little too forcefully to be fully believable. “I mean… no. No, it’s fine.”

Levi did not look convinced, but left it alone, heading toward the direction of the shop again. Eren, reluctantly, followed behind him.

 _It’ll be fine,_ he thought. _Absolutely nothing to worry about. That happened hours ago. He would definitely have left by now_.

The bell above the door jingled as it was opened, making Eren jump.

“For god’s sake” Levi mumbled. “Get a hold of yourself, your majesty.”

Just a moment after the bell rang, the woman who had been behind the desk of the shop after Eren had bumped into the blonde Omega came out from behind a bookshelf. She looked at Levi for a second, but her gaze lingered on Eren much longer. She scanned him up and down with an unreadable look. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Levi produced a paper from the pocket of his shirt, presenting it to her. “I’m here to pick up some books.”

She took it, scanning the paper, before calling over to a dark haired girl who was reorganizing a few volumes on one of the shelves. “Hey, Mina” she said, holding out the paper, which the girl took. “Can you run to the back, and give this to Armin? He should know where this order is.”

“Sure thing” Mina said, hurrying toward the back of the shop. Eren watched her as she opened a door against the back wall just enough to pop her head in.

“Just a second” the woman told Levi, moving behind the front desk. Levi went to stand in front of it, getting his coin purse out, and counting out money for the purchase. While he did so, the woman watched Eren out of the corner of her eye, a hint of amusement in her expression. She obviously remembered him from that morning. How embarrassing.

Mina had returned to her reorganizing, and out of the corner of his eye, Eren could see the door in the back of the shop open again. A small, familiar blonde boy walked out, not looking up enough to notice Eren, with several books in his arms. The prince felt alarm rush through him as the boy turned to close the door behind him.

 _Oh god_ , he thought. _What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?_

“I am going to wait outside!” he said loudly.

Levi turned around, his brows furrowed, looking perplexed by the boy’s outburst. “What?” he asked.

But it was too late. The bell jingled frantically as Eren threw open the door and dashed out onto the street. He ran to the edge of the shop window, leaning against the brick wall, and breathing heavily.

That boy worked there? Eren hadn’t been expecting that. Eren didn't have a lot of experience with Omegas, but he did know from how people often spoke to Levi that they didn't usually work. He hadn’t played that cool at all either. How mortifying. He peeked around the edge of the window, looking inside.

The boy was placing the books on the desk, and then got a bag out for them. While the woman was handling Levi’s money, Eren watched as the blonde carefully placed each of the books inside the shopping bag.

He was really, really cute. He might have seemed even cuter now than he had that morning. Eren could feel himself starting to blush. “Armin” he whispered to himself, testing out how the name felt when he said it. He liked it. It was cute, just like the person who owned it.

Soon Armin was gone, probably going back to the room in the back of the shop. Eren leaned against the brick wall again, smiling a little. He had never felt like this before. Eren didn’t have a lot of experience with… whatever this feeling was. He didn't meet a lot of people, after all. He wondered what it was.

Maybe he was being silly. He had barely interacted with the blonde, he reminded himself. They hadn’t even been properly introduced. But, Eren wouldn’t have minded meeting the Omega boy again. In fact, he thought, he would very much have liked to.

“Ahem” He was pulled from his thoughts by Levi’s voice. The dark haired Omega guard was standing there, looking at Eren with a look of bewilderment.

“Hehe, um…” Eren laughed nervously, as he started trying to think of an excuse for his weird behavior. “Uh… it was kind of hot in there, wasn’t it?”

Levi sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not going to ask” he said. He looked at his watch. “It’s about 4:30 now. A little early, but we have some time before the carriage will arrive. Let’s stop for tea, shall we? If we were to wait until we get home it would be too late."As he turned around Eren rolled his eyes. Of course they were stopping for tea. Levi always insisted on it, even though Eren thought it was silly, and old fashioned. Eren had had tea with Levi around this time nearly every day of his life since he was five years old.

There happened to be a tea shop across the street from the book store. Inside was decorated in a simple, elegant fashion. A dozen or so small tables littered the room, covered by white table cloths, with chairs made of dark wood at them. The walls were covered with gold wallpaper, and had paintings of tea sets and ladies with cats hanging on them.

They were seated quickly, and Levi ordered them tea and a three tiered tray of scones and finger sandwiches. “Well, today was an adventure” Levi said once their food had been delivered to the table. He was busy pouring cream and sugar into his teacup.

Eren paused, biting his lip a bit. “I’m sorry” he said. “I promised that I would stop running off, and I broke your trust.”

“You did” Levi agreed. He lifted his cup to his lips, his fingers gripping onto the rim, rather than the handle, taking a sip. “But, I accept your apology. And besides, we got all my chores done, so on my next day off I can spend it doing whatever I want. Perhaps Erwin and I can take the day off together.”

At another one of the tables was a small family of three. The little girl between the parents looked bored, but was staying quiet. Eren watched them for a moment.

“Levi. You’re an Omega” he said.

Levi gave Eren a deadpan look over his teacup. “Why thank you for reminding me, your grace. I had completely forgotten.”

“No, no” Eren said quickly. “I was just thinking, don’t you and Erwin want any children of your own? I mean, you’re not exactly getting any younger.”

A foot collided with Eren’s shin under the table, and he tried to stifle a yelp of pain.

“Oh, my apologies, Prince Eren” Levi said. “I seemed to have briefly lost control over my foot.” Eren was about to object, but Levi continued. “Children haven't been in the cards for Erwin and I so far is all”.

He met Eren’s gaze. “Besides” he said. “I already have you.”

For a moment Eren didn’t know what to say. Levi had been with him for so long now as his guard. But, really, it had been so much more than that.

Levi reached for a scone. “Elbows, Eren” he said.

He hadn’t even realized he had put his elbows on the table. Quickly he removed them. “How can you even say that to me, holding your cup like that?” he muttered.

“Simple” Levi replied. “I'm not a prince.”

They ate their food and drank their tea, while Levi went on with talk about the guards, and about his books that he was reading. Eren mostly just listened, injecting a response here and there when it was necessary.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the blonde haired Omega in the window of the bookshop. Panic flooded his senses. The Alpha grabbed a menu, which was in a stand on the table, and opened it, hiding behind it.

Levi looked vaguely surprised. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Eren ducked a bit further behind the menu, only his eyes above it. In the bookshop Armin was talking with the brown haired woman.

“N-nothing” he said. “I j-just wanted to look.”

“But we already ordered” Levi said. “If you spoil your dinner too much your father will say something about it”

Armin came out of the bookshop. Without noticing Eren, he began to walk away, down the street, one hand clutching the strap of his messenger bag to support it. Eren watched as he walked, transfixed on the way he smiled ever so slightly, and the way his pretty gold hair gleamed in the sunlight.

Once he had gone, Eren almost let out a sigh of relief as he lowered the menu. However, he was filled with embarrassment once again, seeing Levi staring at him.

“See something you like, your majesty?”

Eren couldn’t help but blush. “N-no!” he objected. “Why… why would you ask that?”

“He is pretty cute” Levi said, turning his head to watch Armin before he disappeared around the corner. “You seemed especially interested in him when you knocked him over this morning”.

Eren thought a moment, the pieces coming together in his head. “You saw that?” he asked.

“Of course I did” Levi scoffed. “You’re not that sneaky, Eren, don’t flatter yourself. Of course I saw you.”

“Why didn’t you come out to catch me then?” Eren asked. Levi shrugged.

“You seemed pretty busy with... Armin, was it? I would have hated to interrupt you, so I left you alone just that once. But then you actually managed to lose me for a while after that.” He took the last finger sandwich on the tray, putting it on his own small plate. “But, he did smell awfully nice in the book shop.”

Eren was too embarrassed to do anything but blush in silence. Levi had known this whole time. And he had set this up on purpose hadn’t he? He wanted to see how Eren would react, hadn't he?

“Let’s not take too long walking back to the square” Levi said. “The coach will be there soon.”

A plain coach waited for them, completely inconspicuous to anyone who may have been passing by. Most of the citizens of Sina were quite wealthy, and a coaches were about as common as anything else was around there.

“Good evening your majesty, good evening Mr. Ackerman” the coach driver said in a low tone, jumping down from his seat to open the door for them. “I trust you had a pleasant day in the city.”

As they rode back to the palace, Eren held his sugar cookies in his lap, and leaned his head on his hand, staring at the window.

“When we get back they'll bring us through the kitchens” Levi said. “I don't want you to make a fuss. You'll need to hurry to take a bath and get ready for dinner, or his majesty, your father, and Prince Zeke will be wondering about your lateness. And don't let them see those cookies, or there won't be any more of them in the near future.”

Eren nodded, too tired to come up with any more responses to Levi's nagging. It had been a long day.

He thought once more about the blonde Omega, Armin, and about that peaceful, clear, wonderful scent, and those big, beautiful blue eyes. It made Eren smile a little, as he watched the buildings and people go by outside the window. He felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading inside him

It had been a long day, but a nice one. Nicer than he had hoped it would be.

“We're almost home” Levi noted. Glancing up ahead, Eren saw the palace coming into view, his stomach dropping a little. His day of freedom and adventures was coming to a close, at last. Already he could feel the warm feeling being overtaken by a sense of dread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoooo, that was a lot longer than I was expecting it to be! But here is chapter two! Hope you enjoyed it! Eren is actually a lot harder to write than I thought he would be. Also, I made the age gap between Levi and Eren a little bit smaller than it is in canon for story purposes, and I hope it didn't come off as strange to anyone.
> 
> I'm going on vacation in a few days, and won't have my computer with me, so I probably won't be able to post chapter three for another two weeks. But, I've already outlined it, so it shouldn't take too long to write once I come back. Not sure how many people reading this like the anime Free!, but during my vacation I'll be visiting the town that Iwatobi is based on! It's a bit out of the way and and hard to get to, so I'm excited to go. I'd like to write a fanfiction about Free! someday, so I hope I can get a real feel for what the town is like, to help with writing one!
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

14 Years Earlier

 

The Arlert family lived in a small apartment, close to the center of Shiganshina. It was a bit cramped, and sometimes the ceiling would leak, but it was always warm and bright inside. Armin's mother would always remind him that they were very lucky.

The living room was Armin's absolute favorite place to be. There was a big, old burgundy carpet spread across the floor. The room had a squishy brown sofa, and a matching chair. Both of them were torn a little, and had some stuffing coming out.

All three of the Arlerts loved to read, so the room was brightly lit with a few floor lamps, so that it would be easy on their eyes. True to their passion for reading, there were bookshelves all around the room, crammed full of large books belonging to his parents. Armin's mother once told him that before they came to Shiganshina, his she and his father had been university professors.

Armin was dressed in his pajamas, sitting in his father's lap on the sofa. Both of them were looking at a big book that Mr. Arlert held in front of them. Armin's father was a older than his mother. He had a mustache and big, round, blue eyes like Armin's.

“That's a desert” his father told him, pointing to a picture in the large tome. It was an illustration of a vast field of sand, under a bright blue sky. “Sand goes on for miles and miles”.

“Wow” Armin said, eyes wide as he looked at the book. He liked looking at his father's old books from when he and Armin's mother lived in Sina. They were full of so many pictures of other places, other people, and new things. For someone like Armin, who had spent all of his short life in Shiganshina, it was hard to imagine a life outside the walls around them.

His father turned the page, pointing to a picture of a mountain. Armin had never seen a mountain before, but he had heard about them in school. “Oh!” his father said. “You know, I climbed this mountain once, when I was a young man!” He chuckled to himself. “I'd like to do it again someday!”

Armin reached out and flipped another page in the book. There, illustrated on the worn paper, was a picture of the ocean, colored a beautiful, deep blue. He had heard all about the ocean in class. His teacher said it was salt water, as far as the eye could see. It sounded too amazing for Armin to fully believe it.

He looked at his father. “I want to go there” he said, pointing to the page. “Can we go someday to see the ocean?”

Mr. and Mrs. Arlert passed one another a serious look for a moment, before the older man patted Armin's head affectionately. “I want you to be able to see all of it someday, Armin” he said. Armin thought his father suddenly sounded a little more tired than before.

Suddenly, the clock struck nine, and began to chime.

“Time for bed, sport” his father said. He scooped Armin up, and lifted him into the air as he stood from the sofa.

“Can I keep the book for tonight?” Armin asked, hugging the large volume close to himself as his father settled him on his hip.

His father laughed. “You know what? You can keep it for good. I've got a bunch of books like that.”

Armin smiled, clutching his new book even tighter.

“Say goodnight to your mom” his father said, as Mrs. Arlert stood from the chair.

Armin leaned toward his mother, kissing her on the cheek. “Goodnight mama” he said, as she patted his hair. She placed a kiss of her own on the top of his head, before his father began to carry him to his room.

Armin's father settled him into bed, placing the big book on the bedside table. Armin's bed was a little lumpy, but he didn't like to complain much about it. His parents didn't have a lot of money for him to get a new one. Mr. Arlert pulled the covers over his son.

“No late night reading tonight, ok?” he said, starting to leave the room.

“Ok” Armin said sleepily. “Goodnight papa.”

“Goodnight, Armin” his father said, sending his son a warm smile, before closing the door behind him.

Armin laid in his lumpy bed, staring at the ceiling, and slowly counting to one hundred. Then, as quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed, and shuffled over to the door, a tiny smile on his face.

He knew it was bad to spy. He was supposed to be going to sleep. But, lately he was curious about what his parents talked about when Armin was in bed. It always sounded really important and grown up.

Armin settled down on the floor next to the door, opening just a crack. He peeped out into the hallway, seeing shadows coming from the kitchen. Then he placed an ear next to open space of the door, and listened.

His father sighed heavily. Armin heard him settling into one of the kitchen chairs. It sounded like a cup was being put on the table. “Thank you, dear” Mr. Arlert said, sounding tired.

“Armin has been having some trouble in school lately” his mother said, sounding troubled. Armin regretted spying then. He hated listening to them talk about his school. His mother always worried, and he felt terrible for it. “Today his teacher was telling me that he only ever spends time with that Kristein boy from down the street. He's still so small that I'm worried the others will start to bully him.”

“Armin is just shy” his father insisted. “Let's see how things go before we get too worried.”

A long silence passed between them. So long that Armin considered going back to bed. But then, his father spoke.

“I got a letter from the university” his father grumbled. “They're making another petition for our case to get revisited. And it looks like it's going further than last time.”

“What?” his mother said, excitedly. “That's wonderful.”

“I wouldn't get too excited yet” he said. “The university doesn't know the info that got us landed in here. They just know that I found something doing genetics research for the government.”

“You should tell them” Mrs. Arlert said.

Mr. Arlert let out a small groan. “I can't. Even if I could get that information out of Shiganshina, it would be a risk for anyone else to get involved. If it wasn't for Armin having been about to be born I would have brought it straight to the press, but I worried we would end up here.” He let out a mirthless half laugh. “The joke was on me. We still got sent here.”

Armin was confused. He wasn't really sure what his parents were talking about, but it sounded serious.

“They can't silence me” his father said. “They can't be allowed to hurt people for their war efforts. I can't let them get away with it. Every day that goes by is another day where people are in danger. It's another day closer to _Armin_ being in danger.”

“Don't talk like that” Mrs. Arlert said, sounding distressed.

His father sighed. “Come on, you must notice how his scent has been lately. It's been changing... getting sweeter.”

“He's just a child” Armin's mother said quickly. “And we're both Betas.”

“It's not uncommon for children to start showing premature presentation signs long before they actually present” his father said. “Look at how small he still is compared to his classmates. It doesn't matter if we're both Betas, it still happens. It's more dangerous for us to automatically assume he'll be one too.”

The turn of the conversation made Armin feel a little worried. Was there something wrong with his smell? He brought a hand up to his nose, and sniffed, unable to smell anything but skin. Did his parents think he wouldn't be a Beta? Was he in trouble?

“What if something happens to us?” his father asked. “I don't want our son to get caught up in the king's madness.”

“What will we do?” Mrs. Arlert asked.

His father paused. “They're arranging a hearing for me in Sina. We'll go, and see how it goes. We can take Armin with us, and get him out of Shiganshina for the day. But, if it doesn't go well... we may have to consider alternative options.”

Starting to become unbearably sleepy, Armin closed his door, and tiptoed back into bed, gladly crawling back under the warm blankets. He felt concerned, but mostly because he didn't understand most of what his parents were talking about. Still, he knew his parents would keep him safe. Armin yawned, stretching a little, before settling into bed, and wrapping his small arms around his pillow. Everything would be fine, he thought, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 

The sun had just set when Armin arrived back in Shiganshina. The blonde Omega trudged through the district checkpoint, tired from a long day at the bookshop, and from his long commute. He glanced around to see if Annie was around anywhere, but she wasn’t. She must have gone home to wherever she lived by then, he thought.

There wasn’t much of a crowd at the checkpoint, and he passed through without any trouble from the soldiers standing around. The young woman sitting at the passbook desk didn’t even look at him as she stamped his book, and handed it to him. She was probably annoyed about working the night shift instead of being able to go home. Armin couldn’t say he blamed her.

Armin was anxious to get home. He’d woken up so late that he hadn’t had any time to make himself lunch for the day. He knew it wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t bear to spend any of his small amount of pocket money on lunch in Sina, so he had gone without. Mina had been nice enough to give him a large bread roll from her lunch. But now Armin was starving.

His thoughts turned to the day at work, and he sighed heavily, exhausted. It wasn’t really normal for someone in his position to do paperwork, but Ymir hated doing it, so he always got stuck with it. He pouted thinking about how long he’d spent in that cramped, overly warm back room, filling out forms. Then, on top of it all, Ymir had handed over some of the accounting paperwork to him.

 _If she’s going to have me do her work she could at least make me an assistant manager, or something,_ he thought glumly. But, he knew she wouldn’t. Not because she wouldn't want to, but it probably went against his work visa.

On top of everything, Ymir hadn’t stopped poking fun at him all day about his run in with the Alpha, despite his protests about the young man not being his boyfriend. It had gotten obnoxious after a few hours of teasing, and Armin hoped she would forget about it by the time he went back to work. In the afternoon Mina had told him that Ymir wanted one of the orders stored in the back. When he’d gotten it for her, and after the customer had left, her teasing increased twofold. He wondered if something had happened and he hadn’t noticed.

Being completely honest with himself, Armin knew the Alpha was actually quite attractive. He was smaller than most Alphas, but the blonde Omega thought that was fine. He was still attractive in a more boyish way. Armin wasn’t a fan of bigger Alphas anyway. He thought they seemed intimidating.

Not that he was attracted to him or anything, he quickly reminded himself. That would be foolish. He was handsome, sure, and he had a scent that had made the Omega shiver with how nice it smelled. But Armin had met a lot of Alphas like that before! Like… well, he couldn’t think of them off the top of his head, but he was sure he had. It would be stupid for him to get involved with an Alpha from Sina under those kind of circumstances. They would both probably be disappointed, and Armin might get into some trouble.

But, still. He could at least _think_ about how nice the scent was, right? Because it _was_ nice. It didn’t mean that Armin was attracted to the other young man. Because he definitely wasn’t. Even if he did have a handsome face.

He decided not to think about it anymore, and tried to force it from his mind. Armin already had feelings for someone, anyway. Thinking about it made his cheeks turn a light pink, and a small smile tugged at his lips. It would be greedy for him to like more than one Alpha, wouldn’t it? Especially when the likelihood of being with either of them was slim to none. Not that he liked the boy from that morning, he reaffirmed to himself. He didn’t even know his name.

The streets were livelier than they had been that morning, as Armin began his walk home. He clutched his bag a bit closer, worried someone might come out of nowhere and snatch it off of him. Drunken men and woman stumbled about, making their way to the next bar or pub. Though it was a bit early, some escorts were beginning to start their night’s work, waiting around on the street for clients to come seek them out. Males and females of all ages wearing worn and tattered clothing sat on the sidewalks, with hats or bags in front of them, hoping that anyone with change to spare would toss them a coin. But hardly anyone in Shiganshina really had anything to spare. Outside of the bars Armin saw a group of dirty, malnourished children rummaging through some trashcans, pulling out ripped clothing and rotten food.

He was lucky. He, Jean, and Marco didn’t have much, but they had a roof over their head and they rarely went hungry. It was a decently far cry from the life he’d had with his parents, and then his grandfather, but Armin knew things could get a lot worse.

As he continued walking toward home he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, making him jump. “Hey, you!” he heard a voice say from behind him.

Nervously Armin glanced over his shoulder. A brunette young man was standing behind him. Armin could smell he was another Omega. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever met this young man before, and it made him feel on edge.

Suddenly it dawned on him. He _did_ know this person! He was the prostitute he’d seen in the alley early that morning!

The brunette Omega smirked a little at Armin, looking him up and down. “Hey” he said. “You’re that peeping Tom from this morning.”

Peeping Tom? Armin blushed red from the very thought. He would never peep like that! “I-I-I wasn’t, I swear!” Armin stuttered in a panicked voice. “I’m s-sorry!”

The brunette shrugged lazily. “Whatever” he said, smirk still in place. “Doesn’t bother me. I’ve seen everything, I’m not here to judge your kink.”

Amist his embarrassment, Armin felt a bit offended that this stranger would assume he had any sort of “kink” whatsoever, but he didn’t respond. He glanced around the street nervously, to see if anyone was watching them. He couldn’t be sure that this boy wasn’t working with someone to rob him or something. But, he didn’t see anyone suspicious nearby, so he let himself relax a little.

“What’s your name?” the other Omega asked, tilting his head to the side a little, and looking Armin over.

“Umm… A-Armin” he said in a quiet voice.

The boy grinned. “Armin, huh? You’re pretty cute, you know?”

“Thanks” the blonde muttered. "Um... and your name?"

“Don't worry about it. It's not important. You got a job already, Armin? Who’re your guardians?” the boy asked, still looking him up and down.

“Y-yeah, I’m employed” Armin replied. “And my friend is my legal guardian.” He wasn’t sure if he should be attempting to continue conversation to be polite, or if he should just try to run. It wasn't the boy's job that rubbed him the wrong way. People had to do what they had to do. But something about the way the boy was looking at him made him feel uneasy.

Awkwardly Armin asked “And you have a guardian too?”

The boy laughed. “Yeah of course I do. I’m not looking to get my ass dragged away by the state. My pimp is my guardian.”

“Your pimp” Armin repeated slowly.

“I thought you were a cutie when I saw you this morning” the boy said. “And you smell really good too. The bosses have been nagging me to bring in some new Omegas, and I think they’d like you a lot.”

Armin was starting to get a bad feeling about this situation. “Bosses?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, in my gang” he replied nonchalantly, waving the question off with one hand. “Anyway, you’d make some good money with that cute face of yours.”

Alarm bells began going off in Armin’s head as he registered what the stranger was suggesting. “N-no thank you” he said, beginning to back away.

The escort’s hand reached out and grabbed Armin’s wrist, stopping him. “Hey, don’t go so fast! What’s the matter, you a virgin or something?”

“Th-that’s none of your business!” Armin squeaked.

“I mean, you can make a small fortune out here if you are” the boy said. “If street walking isn’t your thing the gang operates a few brothels too. It’s a bit classier I guess.”

Armin was starting to panic. He tried to tug his wrist out of the other Omega’s hold, but his grip was too firm. “I’ve got to go home” Armin pleaded.

The boy looked around on the street. “Let’s talk somewhere a little more private” he said. He gestured to a dark alley behind him. It was the same one that Armin had seen him working in that morning, he realized. The escort started tugging Armin toward the darkness.

“That’ll be a good place” he said.

“Really, let me go, please!” the blonde Omega said, pulling against the other’s grasp on his wrist again. He started to struggle with the other Omega, his bag slipping off his shoulder and crashing to the ground in the process. Armin wondered if he should call for help, but then he wondered if anyone would even bother to help him if he did.

“Hey!” a woman’s voice called out, making both of them freeze.

Armin could see, down the street, a blonde in a military uniform running toward them. As she grew closer he was able to make out who it was.

“Annie” he sighed in relief.

The prostitute dropped Armin’s wrist, backing up a little as Annie approached them. Armin backed up, allowing space for Annie to place herself between him and the other Omega.

“We were just talking” the boy told Annie, an angry grimace on his face.

“Oh?” she asked. “And who are they?”

Armin could see, in the darkness of the alleyway, a small group of burly looking men were waiting. Once attention had been turned to them, the group quickly began to retreat into the darkness.

“Looks like that was going to be some talk” Annie said, eyes narrowed. “Assisted kidnapping huh?.”

“Tch” the boy said, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know them! You haven’t got proof.”

She glared at him. “If I see you harassing pedestrians again I’ll take you in to the police. Then the state can deal with you.”

Both the boy and Armin froze. It was a serious threat, and even though the blonde knew he wasn’t really in any danger, it still made him nervous. Armin knew he had nothing to worry about. He was a law-abiding citizen, and had a legal guardian, like all Omegas were supposed to. Most people didn’t think Omegas were capable of taking care of themselves. If an Omega was getting into criminal activity, or had no one to take care of them, they were “taken into the care of the state”. No one really knew what that meant, exactly. But once an Omega had been taken into “state care” no one ever heard from them again.

After a moment of silence the boy shrugged, turning away from them. “Whatever” he said. He cast one last smirk at Armin. “See you around, cutie” he said, before beginning to walk away.

Armin and Annie watched him until he disappeared around a corner. Armin let out a sigh of relief.

“Annie” he said. “I… I thought you would have gone home by now.” He reached down to pick up his fallen bag, pulling the strap back over his shoulder.

Annie looked in the direction the other Omega had gone a moment longer, before turning to Armin. “A coworker asked me to cover his patrol tonight” she explained quickly. A frown formed on her face, and she looked Armin over, angrily. “Did he hurt you at all?” she asked.

“N-no” he said, shaking his head. “I’m ok, really. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine” she said in a stern tone. “Armin, you were nearly kidnapped just now. What would have happened if I hadn’t been walking by?”

Armin felt suddenly ashamed of himself. She was right. He should have ran away. Should have tried harder to fight back.

Annie put her hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eyes, with the same serious expression.

“You need to stick up for yourself” she said firmly. “And you need to be more aware of dangers around you. You know this isn’t a safe neighborhood. You hardly put up any fight at all. Omegas have been disappearing lately, Armin. What if you got snatched up? What kind of things do you think happens to Omegas these gangs get their hands on?”

“I know” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Releasing his shoulder, she looked in the direction the prostitute disappeared in again, and Armin followed her line of sight. “Are you going to follow him?” Armin asked.

Annie sighed. “I should. We’ve been trying to shut down the gang activity around here, and the Omega trafficking has been on the rise lately. But…” She looked at him. “I can find him again another day. I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to pull a stunt like that twice in one night after getting caught. I’ll walk you home.”

Armin felt light headed, like he was floating. A million butterflies released at once in his stomach. “W-w-walk me…?” he stammered.

“I don’t want anything else to happen tonight, now that I’ve lost track of those guys” she said. “You never know, they might follow you home if you’re by yourself.”

Oh, yeah, of course Annie was just walking him home to keep him safe. Of course. Her job was to patrol the neighborhood, he reminded himself. But, still, he couldn’t help his heart from pounding in his chest, or his hands from shaking a little.

She began to walk in the same direction Armin had been headed in before being stopped. Armin hurried to catch up to her, and then they walked in silence. Armin wanted to say something, but he wasn’t really sure what to say. Maybe a “thank you” was enough. But it didn’t _feel_ like enough. He wanted to say something clever to impress her, but he wasn’t very good at speaking cleverly under pressure.

All too soon they reached his apartment. “Is this the one?” she asked.

“Y-yeah” he said, nodding. “Thank you for helping me, Annie. You really saved me back there. And thank you for walking me home.”

She didn’t smile, but her hardened face did soften a little at his words. “It’s not a problem” she said. “Just remember what I said.”

“Yeah, I’ll be more careful” he said. “Goodnight.”

She turned around, walking away. Armin was about to start climbing the stairs leading to the second landing of the apartment building, but he stopped. He clenched his fists, gathering his resolve, and took a deep breath.

“Annie!”

She turned around, an eyebrow raised in curiousity.

He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously, thinking of what he would say next. He could feel himself beginning to sweat, and the shaking that had been exclusive to his hands before now spread to his whole body.

“I… I….” What was he doing? Why did he do this? “I was wondering” he finally said. “Um… i-if you have some time s-someday… maybe I c-could repay you for today. I could b-buy you dinner or something?”

Annie stared at him a moment, contemplating his words. “Are you asking me out?” she asked bluntly.

“Oh! Um… well…” Armin felt himself panicking.

Annie gave him a dark look. “Armin” she said. “You know I can’t say yes.”

He felt like something inside him was made of glass, and someone had just thown a large rock at it. He looked down at his feet, feeling disheartened.

Her voice was a little less harsh when she next spoke. “You’re a nice guy” she said. “But, you know that it’s against the law for us to be like that. I’m not a Shiganshina resident.”

Armin nodded. Suddenly he felt a little scared. Annie wouldn’t report him for this… would she? “You… you wouldn’t… um” he was too afraid to finish the scentance.

“File a report? No. I’ll let this slide.”

He nodded. “Well… sorry about that. Goodnight.”

She turned around again, and walked back down the dingy street, in the direction they had come. With a heavy heart, and heavy feet, Armin mounted the steps to the second floor, trying to ignore the pricking sensation in the corner of his eyes. When he reached the upstairs landing he watched Annie go until she disappeared into the city.

He stood there for a moment, outside his apartment, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood. There was a baby crying somewhere, and a couple having an argument somewhere else, while a crowd of drunken older men shambled along on the street below. He took a deep breath, gathering himself for a second before he went inside.

“I’m home!” he called out, trying not to let his voice betray him. It only sounded a little wobbly.

The apartment was dark. The apartment was outfitted with electric lights, but they couldn’t afford the electricity. They had opted to have it turned off, and used oil lamps and candles instead. He kicked off his shoes, and stumbled down the hall, toward flickering light coming out of the kitchen.

Jean was cooking dinner at the stove, while Marco was sitting at the table, looking through mail. There was a lamp on the table just bright enough to read without one hurting their eyes. He looked up at Armin, giving him a warm smile. “Welcome home” he said. “How was your day?”

Armin’s day was shit, but he didn’t think it was worth telling Marco and Jean that. He didn’t want to tell them he’d almost been kidnapped, after Marco had told him to be careful just that morning. It would only make them worry.

“It was ok” he mumbled. He put his messenger bag on the floor next to his chair, and then walked over to the stove. “What are we eating?” he asked.

Jean scowled into the boiling pot in front of him, as he continued to stir it’s contents. “You’re eating what I make” he grumbled.

Marco cast Armin an apologetic look. “He had a bad day at the factory” he explained. “It’s pasta.”

Armin started to gather plates and cutlery from the cabinets, and then began to set the table for dinner. Marco moved the mail out of the way just enough for Armin to put his plate and utensils in front of him.

“We got a letter from my mother” Marco said to Jean.

Jean scowled even more than he had been already, pouring the pasta into a strainer. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “And what did she say?”

Marco’s eyes darted over the letter in his hand, and he sighed. “She’s asking again when we’re going to get married.”

“Tell her we’ll do it faster if she wants to pay for the wedding” he snapped. “This shit ain’t cheap, you know?”

Armin spotted some bread in a basket on the counter, and brought it to the table, before taking his place in his usual seat. “You two could just go to the courthouse, couldn’t you? Then it would just be over with.”

Jean had been picking up a pot of pasta sauce from the stove to pour into a bowl. But he suddenly slammed it back down on the stove with a heavy thud, pointing the sauce spoon at Armin, an annoyed frown on his face.

“No” he said. “I’m not doing that. This is _my wedding_.”

“It’s _our_ wedding” Marco reminded.

“This is _our wedding_ ” Jean parroted. “And I’m _not_ getting married like that. I don’t want a court wedding, I want a _wedding-wedding_ , with the flowers and the dinner, and people throwing rice at us.”

He turned his attention back to the pasta sauce, and Marco and Armin exchanged a look with one another. Marco just shook his head, looking tired. He slid some letters toward Armin. “These are yours” he said, moving on to the next piece of mail in his own pile.

Armin looked through the three letters. The first one was a letter from the Omega clinic reminding him to go and get a refill of his suppressants.

“You’re starting your heat tonight, right?” Marco asked him over the mail.

Armin nodded. “I reminded Ymir today. I hate to miss four days of work though.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do” Jean said, putting the bowl of pasta, and the sauce on the table. “You can’t just skip them completely.”

“And at least the new dosage keeps the edge off, right?” Marco asked, placing the mail to the side. “It’s not as bad as it usually is for you?”

“For any of us” Jean grumbled. “Armin’s room used to stink when he was in heat.”

“Don’t be rude” Marco said, looking at Jean in disapproval. “He didn’t stink. Armin, you didn’t stink. It’s just… it was a little strong.”

Armin understood. He had especially bad heats compared to other Omegas when he was off his suppressants. Without them he would probably need to be locked in his room for four days. Things went by in a blur. It was still bad with the suppressants, but at least it was bearable.

Suddenly he remembered - he needed to take his medication before he ate. “I’ll be right back” he said, standing up. He grabbed one of the candles on the counter before leaving the kitchen.

Armin stumbled down the dark hallway toward the washroom. He opened the medicine cabinet, reaching for small bottle of orange pills, behind the bottle of blue suppressants. After putting the candle down on the edge of the sink, he poured one pill into his hand, and quickly swallowed it. It was smaller than the suppressants, so it was easier going down, but it tasted funny in a way that made Armin feel a bit nauseous. The orange pills he wasn't used to taking as much as the blue ones. He only needed them once a month, after all - when it was time for him to start his heat.

He returned to the kitchen quickly. Marco had already put pasta on Jean’s plate, and was now in the process of serving Armin’s dinner as well.

“Thanks” Armin said to him, sitting down again.

He glanced at the second letter as Marco finished scooping out pasta onto his plate. He groaned. “Oh god” he said. “I got another one”. Quickly he checked the third letter. “I got _two_ ”

“Lemme see” Jean said, snatching the letters out of his hands. He cleared his throat. “Dear Mr. Arlert” he read in a faux posh tone. “ _The Eldia Omega Welfare Council cordially invites you to a night of revelry and romance_ –oh my god”. He started to laugh, before gathering himself, and continuing. “ _The Sina division of the council would be delighted in your attendance at our monthly social. The intent of our events is to find the most suitable mates for both the Alphas of Sina and the Omegas who live or work there. The event –“_

“Enough, please” Armin begged, his face burning with heat from his embarrassment.

“This one’s from some private matchmaking organization” Jean said, looking at the other letter as well. “Look at you, Armin, getting two invites in one day. You’re a hot ticket.”

Armin blushed again, starting to pour the sauce on top of his pasta. “It’s just because I went to the academy” he mumbled. “I wouldn’t be getting so many otherwise.”

Jean snorted. “Yeah well, so did we and no one is inviting us to any fancy parties.”

Marco settled into his seat, having finally served himself. “Which will you go to?” he asked, reaching for the tomato sauce. Armin slid it closer to within his reach. 

“None” Armin grumbled.

“Gotta go to one” Jean said. “It’s the visa requirement.”

He was right. Armin was lucky to have his visa at all, but he could only keep it if he went to one of the matchmaking parties he was invited to every month. Not that it ever amounted to anything. Normally the Alphas were pretty turned off by him being from Shiganshina. And if they weren’t Armin still kept himself at arm’s length from them.

“I guess I’ll go to the Omega Welfare Council one” he sighed. “That’s pretty much the standard.”

“I mean, maybe it’ll be fun” Marco said, encouragingly. “There will be a lot of free food. And maybe you’ll meet someone you like this time.”

Jean shrugged. “Not like you can date outside Shiganshina otherwise” he said with a mouth full of pasta. “Might as well go.”

Shiganshina residents weren’t allowed to have romantic relations with people outside the district without government approval or surveillance. These parties were always approved, so Armin could go to as many as he wanted. But they never just gave approval otherwise. Armin wasn’t able to just date anyone he liked whenever he liked.

Armin looked at his food, falling silent. Marco and Jean would never understand. Love hadn’t exactly been easy for them, but being Betas it was less of a stress. Sure, Marco had had to move here before they could be open about their relationship. But, they genuinely loved one another. Armin couldn’t guarantee that for himself. Omegas were seen more as possessions than people to their mates.

Armin ate his food mostly in silence while Marco and Jean talked about their day. Even if it was just pasta, Armin was so hungry that it tasted amazing. He was starting to feel the effects of the orange pill setting in. It was making his limbs start to tingle and made him feel a bit warm. But, he found he was getting hungrier and hungrier. He was glad there was enough for him to have a second or third helping. His body would need the extra energy.

“I visited Mylius Zeramuski down the street after work today” Marco told Jean as Armin started to dig in to his second plate of pasta.

Jean grunted a bit in response. “His father passed away last week, right? How is he doing?”

Marco shook his head. “He seemed reluctant to come to the door. I don’t think he’s taking it very well.” Marco looked at Armin. “Armin, I know you’re starting your heat tonight, but when you finish in a few days would you mind popping by? Mylius is an Omega too, so I think he’d appreciate a visit from you more than me. You probably know better what he’s going through.”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by” he said.

Suddenly they heard shouting from outside. It sounded like it was coming from the street below. All three young men froze, looking at one another.

“What was that?” Marco asked. “Do you think it’s a burglar?”

A moment of silence passed between all of them, and the voice began to shout again. This time it was accompanied by a pounding sound.

Jean stood from. “I’m going to go check it out” he said. “You two stay here.”

He gone all of about ten seconds before Armin and Marco looked at one another, and quickly stood from their seats as well, hurrying after him.

Armin could hear the yelling getting louder as he approached the door, making his heart beat harder and harder in his chest. Jean was standing on the landing outside, leaning over the rail, watching something happening down the street.

“Is it a gang raid? What is it?” Marco asked, as he and Armin came to stand on either side of Jean.

“Wha… Hey! I told you guys to stay inside!” Jean said. “Doesn’t anyone listen to me in this house?”

Armin looked down below, and a little down the street.

A few soldiers were standing by the front door of an apartment at street level, pounding on it loudly with their fists. Behind them were a couple of people in white lab coats, waiting by a carriage. The doors of the carriage were opened, and Armin could see inside. It was entirely padded, with no windows.

“That’s Mylius’s home!” Marco said, sounding more panicked.

Armin suddenly felt much colder, and felt himself begin to shake a little. He wanted to run back inside the apartment, but he felt like he couldn’t stop watching.

It was no raid.

“Open up!” the soldiers yelled. “We have a warrant!”

“Oh my god” Marco said, raising a hand to his mouth in horror. “If his father died, maybe Mylius doesn’t have any legal guardians left. I didn’t even think about it earlier!”

The soldiers began ramming against the door with their shoulders. Within minutes it flew open. All of them quickly disappeared inside.

“Jean, can’t we do something?” Marco asked, placing a hand on Jean’s shoulder.

A scream pierced the air, making Armin shudder.

“You can’t do this!” the voice said. “You can’t do this!”

The soldiers reappeared, dragging Mylius out onto the street. At this point it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was either looking out their windows, or gathered on the street, watching the scene unfold before them. Mylius swung at one of the soldiers, but she dodged easily and decked him in the face, making him fall to the ground. In his moment of weakness the soldiers were on him, two holding him down. Mylius was still screaming, but his struggles were useless against the soldiers holding him down on the ground.

“This one is strong” a soldier called out. “And he’s hostile. We’ll have to take extreme measures.”

“We have to do something, Jean!” Marco said, more frantic this time. “We can’t just watch them take him away!”

Jean gripped the rail of the landing, grimacing. “There is nothing we can do” he said with gritted teeth.

Marco began to protest. “But-“

“Marco” Jean bit out, gripping the rail a bit tighter. “There is nothing we can do. We already have one Omega. We don’t earn enough money to apply for guardianship of another one.”

He looked out onto the street again, a pained, angry expression on his face. “And even if we did, what can we do? You can’t just pull someone out of a center. You know once an Omega is in there they don’t come out again.”

Armin looked back down at the scene on the street. A woman in a lab coat came toward the soldiers holding Mylius on the ground, holding a syringe. Mylius started screaming louder as she approached, but soldiers held him still while another person in a lab coat cut away the sleeve of his shirt with a pair of scissors.

“Get away from me!” he yelled, as the woman began to inject the contents of the syringe into his arm. “Stop!”

He struggled a few more minutes, before, slowly, Mylius’s attempts at fighting back became more and more feeble. The street became quiet again. Mylius’s screams stopped, and eventually so did his struggles.

Two other people in lab coats pulled a cloth stretcher out of the carriage, placing it on the ground next to their victim. Within minutes they had him secured on the stretcher, including handcuffing his wrists and ankles to the sides. No one on the street stepped forward or did anything to help Mylius as the people in coats loaded him into the carriage, and closed the door, and locking it behind him.

It gave Armin a cold, empty feeling. No one jumped in to help him. Not even Armin. What could he do, after all? He was just one Omega. God forbid, if this happened to Armin, it was likely that no one would help him either.

“Let’s go back inside” Jean said bitterly.

Marco quickly disappeared into their apartment again. Armin, however, watched the carriage as it began to roll away. The whole thing had taken maybe ten minutes. It wasn’t fair.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, startling him. Jean was behind him, not able to look at him. His face was a mask of shame and fury. “Come on, Armin” he said. “Let’s go inside.”

He nodded, and walked ahead of Jean, who closed the door behind them. When he returned to the kitchen Marco was sitting at the table again, rubbing his face with his hands. Armin thought he looked like he was going to cry, but knowing Marco he would wait until he was alone to do it. Jean and Armin returned to their places, and once again the three of them resumed eating. Only, this time, not one of them spoke.

The food was delicious, and hadn’t gone cold during the ruckus outside, but Armin suddenly found his appetite was gone. Still, food was food. He couldn’t waste it, and it was important for him to eat before his heat, so that he wouldn’t be too tired.

Each and every bite went down like sand. Armin felt a little stick to his stomach, and wondered if it was because of the medication or his sense of dread.

After dinner Armin washed the dishes. Half way through his stomach was beginning to churn, making him uncomfortable. By the time he was finished drying the last plate and placing it back into the cabinet he was almost in pain. He rushed out of the kitchen and straight into the washroom, almost throwing himself onto the toilet seat. 

He was so disgusted with himself. But in order for his body to go from "normal" mode into "Omega in heat" mode, everything had to be cleaned out, so to speak. Armin groaned in pain, resting his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. Eventually he heard Jean knock on the door.

"You dying in there, Armin?" he asked.

"Uh... um... I'm fine" Armin insisted. "D-don't worry!"

Once it seemed like he was finally done, Armin stripped off his clothes, getting into the shower. He tried not to stay in it for too long, lest he start thinking too much about what had happened during dinner. Once out of the shower he toweled himself off, changed into his pajamas, and brushed his teeth.

By the time he was finished getting ready for bed he could feel the orange pill really starting to kick in. His legs felt wobbly, and his vision was becoming a bit hazier. He felt warm. Not like he had a fever though. It was a different kind of warmth. One that made him want to get undressed again.

Marco was in his room, holding some towels. “I washed these for you this morning” he said. His eyes were a little red. “I thought you may need them. And I brought you some water”. He gestured to where a glass of water stood on Armin’s bedside table.

“Thanks” Armin said, sitting down on his bed.

Marco placed the towels on the end of the bed. He hesitated a moment.

“Armin” he said. “You know we would never let that happen to you, right? Jean and I… we’ll always make sure you’re free.”

Armin gave him a tight smile. Marco meant well. So did Jean. They both did a lot for him. But, Armin wasn’t free. He never had been, and as far as he could see he never really would be.

“Thanks Marco” he sighed.

“I… I heard you talking to Annie outside” Marco said. Armin felt embarrassment and a reawakened sense of disappointment creeping up on him. He hadn’t thought either Jean or Marco would have heard that. “I didn’t mean to spy, I swear” the brunette insisted. “I was getting the mail.”

“It’s ok” Armin said. “But, yeah. She turned me down.”

Marco gave him a sympathetic look. “I don’t think she has a choice otherwise” he said. “But, I’m really sorry. I know you liked her a lot.”

“Yeah” Armin shrugged, eyes downcast. “Oh well”

“You’ll find someone else” Marco said, sounding hopeful. “I know you will.” He turned to leave, sending Armin one last smile. “I’ll get going. If you need anything just call for us.”

When he left Armin started getting to work. He went to his closet, pulling out old pillows and blankets from a large pile at the bottom, and tossing them onto his bed from across the room one by one. He hadn’t had any time to build a nest over the past few days, so he had to work quickly.

He arranged the pillows on the bed the best he could in the way he liked it. Some Omegas preferred a flat surface with pillows on either side of them, or just to be wrapped in blankets, or to have things covering them, but Armin was fonder of a bowl-type nest. He arranged his pillows and blankets in a large oval, with a space in the middle for him to curl up in. It wasn’t perfect, but he would deal with it.

Satisfied enough, he crawled into the middle of his nest, with his favorite old book. It was nearly tattered from years of love and use, and the cover was worn and falling off, but it was one of Armin’s most prized possessions. He opened it to the page with the illustration of the ocean on it, tracing his fingers over the picture with a small smile.

“I’ll get there someday, dad” he said quietly.

Armin had worked so hard to get where he was now. He couldn’t let heats, or visas, or Alphas, or matchmaking parties get in his way. He was getting out of here, and he was going to see the ocean someday. No matter what.

It wasn’t long before his hazy vision was making it too hard to concentrate on the book, and his body was heating up to an uncomfortable level. He tossed the book to the side, and blew out the candle on his bedside table. He quickly began to strip himself of his pajamas, relishing the comforting feel of the cool air on his overheating skin. He could already feel himself starting to become wet with slick.

This day had sucked. First he had nearly been late for work. Then he had been knocked down by that Alpha boy. Work had sucked, and Ymir had given him a hard time about his heat. Then the thing in the alley, his rejection, and watching another Omega get carted off. And now this. At least the day was over.

“Couldn’t get any worse” he muttered to himself, slightly delirious.

As he thought that he suddenly was aware that his manhood was becoming painfully erect. He groaned. Never mind. If he was hard this early in his heat it was going to be a long four days.

He tried to ignore it for a little while, but then sighed, admitting to himself that it wasn’t going away on it’s own. He was going to have to deal with it. Armin hated giving in to his base urges during his heat.

Rolling onto his back, he reached down between his legs, grabbing his genitals. He began to stroke himself with one hand, slowly, letting waves of pleasure roll through him as he did. For a few minutes he reached down to fondle his aching balls, massaging them and whimpering in pleasure. His fingers then once again wrapped around his engorged shaft, and he returned to caressing it, sliding his hand up and down it’s length in slow, fluid motions.

As the minutes passed his breath was beginning to get more and more ragged, and his hand naturally increased its speed. His bad day was quickly disappearing. All Armin could think about was the tingling sensations running through every inch of his body, the pleasure and ecstasy building in his nether regions, and his impending release. The slick that had begun leaking from him before had grown to a generous amount, and he briefly thought that he probably should have lay a towel down under himself before jacking off.

His mind jumped from one thing to another, attempting to latch onto something that would help him move things along a little. A particular scent from that morning came to mind, making him moan loudly. He wasn’t thinking clearly enough about the circumstances around him encountering it. His mind was much too hazy and blinded by lust. The scent had been so strong, and musky. Armin had liked it – he had _really_ liked it.

He bit his free hand, attempting to stifle his cries of pleasure as he continued to fondle himself, imagining that scent with him _right then, in his room, pinning him down, doing what it wanted with him_. It was all he could think about. That, and a pair of attractive green eyes. 

At last the intensity building up in him became too much, and Armin came hard, unable to stop himself from letting out a loud, high pitched cry of release as he did. He arched his back as his seed shot from him, spilling onto the pale skin of his stomach, and chest, before he collapsed back onto the bed again.

He lay there in the middle of his makeshift nest, slowly coming down from the sexual high left behind after his climax. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing a bit heavily, trying to calm himself. Bit by bit his senses came back to him, unclouded by his heat-driven urges.

Armin grabbed two of the towels to clean himself up. He used one to clean the mess left behind after his self-pleasuring, and tried to mop up as much as he could of the excessive amounts of residual slick coating the inner cheeks of his backside.  He used the other towel to mop up some of the sweat that had started to coat his body. He hoped he hadn’t disturbed Jean and Marco, or one of the neighbors. Maybe no one heard him? No, they definitely would have heard him. Armin wasn’t exactly quiet when he was in heat.

Feeling tired and self-conscious, he rolled over, curling himself up into a ball, and pulling some of the pillows and blankets that the nest was made of closer to himself. Of all people to think about while he was in heat, why was it the Alpha from that morning? He felt creepy and ashamed of himself. He didn’t even know him! Armin had worked so hard to get control over his suppressant controlled heats, and this felt like a step back for him. What would that Alpha think if he knew Armin was pleasuring himself thinking about his scent? It would probably creep him out.

Ready to put the day behind him, and wanting to sleep before he got too hot and bothered again, Armin curled up even more in his nest, and closed his eyes.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaack! Sorry this chapter took a few weeks to post. Getting back into the new school term was rough. I also felt a bit self conscious about writing this chapter. I feel a little weird about it, but I hope it was alright, and wasn't too odd. Anyway, that's why it took a while to finish, and then editing took longer than usual in turn. But, it's finished now, so I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> So, Eren wasn't in this chapter, sorry. I just needed to do a little more world building before they can meet one another properly. But, I promise that in the next chapter we'll get to see Armin and Eren interact a little more with one another again. Really, I promise. 
> 
> Also, thank you so much to everyone who commented on the last chapter, and I'm so sorry to not have replied for a long time. Things have just been a bit crazy, first with vacation, and then with work. I promise I'll be much better about it in the future. I really appreciate all of your lovely words, and all of your support.
> 
> Thank you for reading! See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Eren went flying backward, his back hitting the thick carpet that lay on the floor, with a heavy “thud”. 

He lay there a moment, staring up at the intricately carved white ceiling, attempting to catch the breath that had just been knocked out of him. After he had mostly regained it, he started lift himself off the ground, but pain coursed through him, making him groan loudly.

“God, that fucking hurt” he grumbled. 

A shadow loomed over him, waiting for him to get up on his feet again. Eren glared up at the figure casting it, a scowl etched onto his features.

“Fucking hell, Levi” he said, fully sitting up again. “What the hell are you trying to do, fucking kill me?”

Levi, standing before him with his hands on his hips, rolled his eyes. He had taken off his uniform jacket, and had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. While Eren was already covered in sweat and looking disheveled, Levi still looked as put together as ever. The prince hadn’t yet managed to land a hit on him.

“Oh I didn’t realize I was supposed to be gentle, your majesty” the Omega said. “I thought we were training.”

They had been sparring in one of the spare, empty rooms in Eren’s apartments for a few hours now. Eren was covered with bruises, but it wasn’t anything that he couldn’t cover up with long sleeves. King Grisha didn’t like the idea of Eren fighting, or training for combat. Levi disagreed, but still, they tended to keep their training sessions on the down low.

Prince Eren started to stand, his legs tired and wobbly. Levi stuck a foot out, catching it behind Eren’s knee, which sent the younger man crashing back down onto the carpet. 

“Too slow” Levi sighed.

Eren, on the ground again, slammed a fist against the floor. “What the fuck?!” he yelled. “How was that fair?”

Levi shrugged. “In real combat your enemies won’t care about what’s fair.”

He offered a hand out to Eren, which Eren glared at suspiciously. 

“You going to toss me or something?” the Alpha asked Levi.

Levi rolled his eyes again. “Just take it” he said.

Eren reluctantly took the hand that had been extended to him, and Levi helped him to his feet. Eren’s legs still felt shaky. He limped over to an old sofa they had stored in there, collapsing onto it with a “huff”.

“I need a break” he muttered.

A slow clapping interrupted the lull that had fallen between them, coming from the door. The sound surprised Eren, making him fear his father might have unexpectedly decided to stop by. He relaxed, however, seeing that it wasn’t King Grisha after all, but his brother.

Prince Zeke was much older than Eren, and closer to Levi’s age. Eren looked like his mother, Queen Carla, but Zeke was almost a spitting image of their father, except for his coloring. Like Yeagers tended to be, Zeke was also an Alpha, but he was much more built and muscular than Eren was, much to his younger brother’s constant frustration. It seemed like no matter how hard Eren trained he could never get as much muscle on him as the older prince. 

Unlike Eren, Zeke dressed in a much more official looking, regal fashion. It was, of course, because unlike his younger brother, Prince Zeke spent his days doing official work under his father, meeting with nobles, dignitaries, and generals. Eren spent most of his time amusing himself, in lessons with tutors, or being nagged at by Levi.

“Impressive” Zeke said, coming further into the room. “You almost got a hit in that last time, Eren”. He cast half a smile at Levi. “Excellent fighting, Levi, for an Omega. I guess I shouldn’t expect any less though, given your _unique position_ in the guard.”

Levi’s lips were pressed into a firm line, and he looked very unamused. “Thank you, your majesty” he muttered.

“Zeke” Eren said, standing from the sofa. “I-I wasn’t… it-it wasn’t what it looked like…”

Zeke shrugged. “No worries. I won’t tell father. You have to do something to amuse yourself all day after all.”

Eren smiled, wobbling his way toward the elder prince. “I’m surprised to see you here” he admitted. “Aren’t you and father meeting with Lord Reiss today?”

“I thought I would stop by and say hello. Besides, something came up for Lord Reiss this morning, and we’ve had to reschedule. He’ll be coming for dinner tonight instead.”

“Dinner?” Eren asked, surprised. He was supposed to eat dinner with his father and Zeke tonight, since their schedules for the evening meal had previously been free. However, if Lord Reiss was coming… “But, I thought-“

“It’s official business” Zeke said, cutting him off. “We’re trying to repair relations a bit. Some members of the Fritz family will be coming as well. If we’re going to go to war it’s better if we’re all on the same side, don’t you think?”

“I… I guess” Eren said, his eyes downcast. He looked up again, hopefully. “Could I… could I go as well?”

Zeke gave Eren a tired look. “We’ve talked about this, Eren” he sighed.

“I know, but… but I’m twenty now, right?” he said “I’m grown now. I think… I think it’s safer for me to be seen now that I’m not a boy anymore, don’t you?”

The older brother sighed again, placing a hand on Eren’s head, and ruffling his hair a bit. 

“Eren” he said. “We all have our roles. Until I have a child of my own, your role is to be the next in line for succession, after me. Remember what happened to your mother? That could easily happen to me, or father. We need to keep you safe, as the next in line.”

“But it’s just the Fritz and Reiss family” Eren insisted. “It couldn’t be that dangerous.”

Zeke shook his head. “We can’t know for sure. Right now they’re our allies, but politics is messy, Eren. You never know what could happen.”

Eren looked away, gritting his teeth. “I understand” he grumbled. 

An odd silence fell on the room, before Levi spoke up. “Will you be having tea with us, your majesty?” he asked Zeke. Eren knew Levi didn’t like Zeke, and would rather not have to sit with him for anything, let alone his beloved teatime. He was probably only asking for Eren’s sake. 

“I’m afraid not” Zeke said. “I need to make sure preparations for dinner are running smoothly, since it was very last minute. I only came by to say hello.” He looked at Eren once more. “Perhaps I’ll see you again tomorrow”.

He patted Eren on the shoulder one more time, before leaving without another word. Once he was gone, Eren felt the bitter disappointment in him bubbling into anger. He balled his hand into a fist, and turned, about to punch the wall. As soon as he raised his fist, however, he felt a hand grip his elbow harshly, keeping him from lashing out.

“Calm down” Levi said. 

Eren let his fist uncurl and his arm go limp. “I’m going to go take a shower and change” he said bitterly. 

Eren’s washroom was almost entirely made out of black and white marble, and was equipped with the latest in bathroom comforts and technology. He had a separate shower and bath, the latter being large enough for five Erens to sit in comfortably. 

He showered away the sweat from his earlier training, letting the warm water wash away his fury. When he stepped out of the shower, he wrapped himself in a fluffy green towel, and went back to his bedroom. One of his maids must have chosen some new clothes for him while he bathed, since a new outfit was waiting for him on his bed. He dressed quickly, happy to be clean again. He then crawled onto his bed, rolling onto his back. Staring at the canopy above, he continued his plotting for that afternoon.

Things had not gone as planned so far that day. He hadn’t been able to eat with his family since that day he had run off to Sina, and he had really been looking forward to dinner. But, there was still a chance the day could get better. 

It was almost time for tea. Tea was Levi’s favorite part of the day, and therefore the best time for Eren to ask him for any favors. But he had to do it right, or things might get sticky. 

Eren wanted to see Armin, again. At first he had thought that he might just be feeling a simple, fleeting attraction, like when he’d had similar feelings for footmen working around the palace while he was growing up. But after a few days he could tell that this was something different. He wasn’t sure how to explain it, but something about Armin was just _different_. He hadn’t stopped thinking about him for nearly a week now. 

He stared at the canopy above his bed, smiling like a fool while the thought about the object of his most recent affections. Ok, so he hadn’t seen Armin _that much,_ and he had only talked to him once… if you could call what they did talking. But more than anything Eren wanted to see him again. He thought of those beautiful blue eyes, and that shining gold hair, and the way he clutched that bag on his shoulder, and his cute, delicate, adorable face….

No, he needed to concentrate, he reminded himself. He could daydream later. But first he needed to convince Levi. 

He was soon summoned for tea. Levi was waiting in Eren’s parlor, on one of the plush green sofas. On the table between the sofas was a delicate, rose colored china tea set, with small, hand-painted flowers on each porcelain piece. Alongside it sat a plate of finger sandwiches. Eren felt a little disappointed that there weren’t any scones or cookies again today. Someday, he thought, he would finally be independent, and be able to eat a whole plate of scones by himself. 

When he sat down Levi moved to pick up the teapot, but Eren quickly beat him to it. “Allow me” he said, hurriedly.

Levi passed him a look of suspicion, but nodded. “Well, well” he said. “Prince Eren is serving me tea, of his own free will. What did I do today for such an honor?” 

Eren grinned awkwardly, chucking slightly to himself. “It’s good manners, right?”

The older man did not look convinced. “Good manners indeed” he said. 

Ok, ok, Eren thought. So Levi suspected something. That was fine. Levi always suspected Eren was up to something, so it was nothing out of the ordinary. He just had to wait.

After a while it seemed that Levi had let go of his suspicions, and he and Eren chatted about the training, and the day, and Eren’s lessons, which were not going well, as usual.

“I thought that Erwin was coming today” Eren said. 

“He stopped by while you were in the shower” Levi sighed. “Stupid dinner. It’s become such an affair that your father asked him to help get the guards in order for when the guests arrive.”

Erwin was the head of the palace guard, and managed all of the guards who worked on the royal estate. That included any of the personal guards of the royal family, the ones who patrolled inside the palace, and those who patrolled the grounds outside. He had been promoted to the position just a few years before. Erwin had been working in the palace nearly as long as Eren could remember. Actually, he’d known Erwin longer than he’d known Levi.

Levi had mated with the blonde Alpha before he had even come to work at the palace. It must have been at least fifteen years now. Erwin had once gone out on a mission in Underground, by the Military Police’s special request. Only perhaps two weeks later he’d returned with his new mate, Levi. It had come out of nowhere, and caused quite a stir, he’d been told. However Eren been too young to remember anything about it, and Levi always changed the subject when he asked. 

Eren bit his lip while Levi took another small sandwich for himself. “Levi” he said. “Can I ask a favor?”

“I knew you wanted something” Levi said. “What is it?”

Eren took a deep breath, before quickly blurting out “I want to see Armin again.”

Levi looked puzzled for a moment. “Armin?” he asked. Then, after another moment of thought it seemed to dawn on him. “Ohhh, that Armin. No, absolutely not.”

He took a sip of his tea, and giving off an attitude that told Eren that the conversation was, for all intents and purposes, over. Eren, however, was not willing to back down.

“Why not?” he said, annoyance sparking within him. “Why can’t I go see him?”

“You can’t even see Lord Reiss and the Fritz family” Levi said. “What would your father say if I brought you outside because you want to try flirting with some stranger?”

“I didn’t say we would flirt!” Eren said, becoming flustered.

“My answer is still no” Levi replied, with an air finality.

Eren put his teacup down on the table. “It’s not fair” he said, his voice beginning to rise. “You, and my father, and Zeke…. You all treat me like a child.”

“Well, you’re certainly acting like a spoiled brat right now” Levi said in a dry tone.

In his frustration Eren ran his hands roughly through his hair, growling. “If I never go outside how am I supposed to meet anyone?” he asked. “Zeke will get married someday. What about me? What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m sure that your father will arrange something” Levi insisted, a harsher edge to his voice now.

It only made Eren’s temper flare further. “I don’t _want_ to have something arranged! I want to meet someone on my own!”

“Well, you can’t always get what you want” Levi snapped, standing from his seat. “This conversation is over.”

He didn’t look back at Eren as he briskly walked out of the room, leaving the prince alone with the remnants of teatime. The prince sat, by himself, letting frustration stir within him. His hands were tightly clenched into fists, with his nails digging painfully into his palms. 

Why couldn’t Levi understand where he was coming from? Eren wanted a life of his own. He just wanted to have some choice in his life.

“Oh, you’re finished” a calm voice said from behind him. A familiar, comforting scent reached his nose, making him feel immediately more calm. Normally the scent of one Alpha would be more likely to agitate another than soothe them, but this was different. He had grown up with Mikasa, after all. He quickly felt his anger starting to dissolve. 

He turned around in his seat, smiling. “Mikasa!” he said, happily.

Mikasa Ackerman wasn’t really Eren’s sister, but she may as well have been. Her father had been a friend of his father, and when he and Mikasa’s mother died King Grisha had taken her in as his ward. She had always been a breath of fresh air in Eren’s otherwise lonely life.

Mikasa was dressed in the same military uniform that all the other guards wore, with the exception of a red scarf hanging around her neck. She wore a stoic expression as she scanned the table. 

“I thought you had already left” he said. Mikasa had recently joined the military, and would soon be leaving to train at a camp far outside the city.

“I have some time” she said, sitting next to him on the sofa.

Things were quiet between them for a while. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet. It felt like home. 

Mikasa was looking at where Levi had been only moments before.

“We had a fight” Eren explained, slouching back onto the sofa.

“A fight?” she asked, her expression not betraying whether or not she was surprised to hear it or not.

“Yeah”. The prince crossed his arms over his chest. “I… I snuck out last week again. Anyway, I met someone…”

She was staring at him, more curious now. “Who?” she asked

Eren blushed, thinking about Armin again. “An Omega.”

“Will you see him again?” she asked.

Eren shrugged, frowning. “I want to. But, Levi said no.”

“I see” she replied, looking back at the tea set on the table.

She sat in silence for a few moments, while Eren waited to hear what she would say.

“Eren” she finally said. “I know it’s hard for you in here. But, Levi acts the way he does because he cares about you. Not because he wants you to be miserable.”

“Sure fooled me” Eren grumbled. 

Mikasa looked at him, her eyes unreadable. “He just wants to protect you” she said. “You’re-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know” he muttered. “In line for succession, under constant threat, never know when the Marleyans will send an assassin for me, yadda yadda”

“Right” Mikasa said. “I want to protect you too, Eren. That’s why I want to become a guard.”

He shook his head at her, sighing. “You’re too good at fighting. You should join the army to fight Marley. They need you.” He smiled a little, despite himself. “Besides, you’d need to pull the bodyguard job from Levi’s cold, dead fingers.”

She smirked just a tiny bit herself, a rarity for Mikasa. “We’ll see” she said.

  

* * *

 

When he reached he and Erwin’s apartment, Levi was still feeling agitated. He needed something to do to take his mind off things. He quickly changed out of his uniform, and into some more casual clothes that were better suited for cleaning. 

The Ackerman-Smith apartment was, obviously, much smaller than Prince Eren’s. It had four rooms, not counting their bathroom; a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms. One bedroom was for he and Erwin, and the other was empty… for now. All the rooms had plain white walls and hardwood floors, with simple, sturdy furniture. It was modest, but more than anything it was clean.

_What a brat,_ Levi thought, dusting some picture frames hanging on the living room wall. That’s exactly what Eren was. A demanding, spoiled brat.

Levi didn’t understand Eren. It was just one Omega. One. In a matter of years Eren would have a queue of Omegas trying to impress him, all thirsty to become members of the royal family. Why couldn’t he just be patient?

What did he expect Levi to do? Just let him run around Sina with a stranger? And then what? What would the king do when he found out? Was Levi expected to believe that Grisha would be ok with Eren having an affair with a shop boy?

He was scrubbing the sink in the kitchen when Erwin returned. 

“I’m home!” the Alpha called out. Levi heard the door shut behind him, and his heavy footsteps come toward the kitchen. When he appeared in the doorway he glanced in at Levi, noting his intense sink scrubbing. 

“Not a good day?” he asked, coming into the kitchen.

Levi furrowed his brow, his scrubbing intensifying. “Just Eren being himself” he grumbled. “Making all sorts of stupid demands. He had a run in with some Omega last week, when he ran off, and now he wants to go see him again.”

“Oh!” Erwin’s eyes widened a fraction. 

“You’re surprised?” Levi asked.

Erwin shrugged. “Prince Eren just seems… sheltered. A bit immature. Sometimes I forget he’s well into that age” He shook the thought away. “Anyway, what did you say?”

“I said no, obviously” Levi snapped, tossing the sponge into the sink. He leaned against the edge of it, crossing his arms, his face cross.

Erwin was silent a moment, making Levi’s temper start to flare again. 

“What are you thinking?” Levi demanded in a low voice.

“Maybe you should just take him out and let him see the Omega again” his mate suggested.

“Absolutely not” Levi said, his tone resolute. “I’m not letting him get his way this time. I spoil Eren enough, Erwin. If I let him have his way once he’ll demand he get his way next time too.”

“Come on” Erwin said, coming closer to his husband. “Think about it, Levi. Prince Eren never gets to meet people. Now he found someone he’s interested in, and you’re not going to let him at least try?”

“Interested?” Levi scoffed. “He barely even met the boy. He ran into him while he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.” He sighed heavily, pinching the bride of his nose in frustration. “I just do it to keep him safe, Erwin. Its against the rules.”

Erwin placed one hand on the edge of the sink, next to Levi’s waist, a smirk on his face.

He brought his lips close to Levi’s ear. “You were against the rules too, remember?” he whispered. His free hand slowly began to travel up and down the Omega’s side.

Levi was not one to be swayed so easily. He leaned forward, also whispering in Erwin’s ear. “I said no, and that means no”.

He lightly pushed on his mate’s chest, and Erwin moved out of his way, allowing Levi to slip by him, toward the direction of the living room.

“Levi” he sighed. “I know you want to protect him, but remember, Eren isn’t really your son.”

Levi stopped in his tracks, glancing back at Erwin. “He might as well be for all the attention the king gives him” he said. “This palace is full of wolves, Erwin. Eren has been sheltered from it his entire life, and it’s kept him safe. I’ll do what I need to do to protect that.”

It was then that they were interrupted by a knock on the door. The two guards exchanged a glance, as if questioning whether one or the other had been expecting anyone. 

Mikasa was waiting outside when they answered the door, dressed in the same uniform as Erwin, and looking as expressionless as ever. Her posture, however, looked much more rigid than usual, as if something was concerning her. 

“Lady Mikasa” Erwin noted, nodding his head in acknowledgment. “What a surprise”.

“I’m here to talk to Levi” she said plainly.

Levi scowled. Of course Eren would send Mikasa. He gestured for Erwin to go back inside, and stepped into the corridor of the guards’ quarters, shutting the door behind him.

Mikasa wasted no time cutting to the chase. “Eren is upset” she said.

Levi rolled his eyes. “And he sent you to do something about it?” he asked. “Not a very convincing measure for getting his way.”

She shook her head. “He didn’t ask me to come.”

“What do you want then?” Levi asked dryly.

She thought for a second. “Please take Eren to meet the Omega again.”

“Tch” he said, leaning against the door. “I already said no”

She furrowed her brows, looking determined. “Please” she said. “He really wants to see him again.”

Mikasa looked around, making sure no one was in the corridor with them, and lowered her voice. “Levi” she said. “Please. Eren deserves to be happy and to experience things, doesn’t he? He just wants to experience normal things. Just let him try, just one time. Please.”

Levi growled in irritation. “ _Fine_ ” he said. “Fine, fine, fine. Since my decision is clearly outvoted, I’ll take him outside to talk to the shop boy. Satisfied?”

The dark haired alpha visibly relaxed, nodding. “Yes” she said. “Thank you.”

She turned away, looking over her shoulder at him. “That’s all I wanted to say” she said. “I have to go now.”

Levi watched back as she went, feeling more annoyed than ever. Not even a proper goodbye? These kids had no manners at all. Eren, Mikasa, Erwin… Alphas always thought they could just get what they wanted with no consequences.

Well, fine then. He would do it. And when it all blew up in their faces Levi would be getting the last word. 

  

* * *

 

Dinner would arrive in Eren’s apartment soon, but there was still time to kill while he waited. It was the perfect time for him to concoct his plan to escape the palace and visit Armin the next day. 

He paced back and forth in his bedroom, his mind abuzz with his plotting. Tomorrow he had no lessons. Levi would be watching more carefully during his violin practice, after last week’s adventure. The most optimal time to run off would be at dawn, before anyone came to wake him. But early mornings were usually the time when his father was most likely to make a surprise drop in, and there would be big trouble if Eren wasn’t there. 

The garbage would be collected in the morning, and stowing away in the a garbage cart seemed like an option. But then he would smell bad when he went to see Armin. That was out of the question.

He could potentially sneak one of Mikasa’s uniforms from her room. She had a few, and would likely leave some behind while at camp. If he wore a uniform, and snuck out from an area of the palace where he wasn’t so well recognized, that would work. But, then he would have to count on making it there in the first place, and hope Mikasa actually had left a uniform behind. It didn’t seem like a solid plan. 

The Alpha prince shook his head. He could work on that later tonight. He needed to think of what he would _say_ to Armin when he got to the book shop. 

Eren didn’t get out much, and didn’t meet new people often, so he wasn’t very good with words. What did you even say to someone you were attracted to? He would need to practice. 

He caught his reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. Eren strode up to it, staring at his reflection in the glass, gathering his confidence.

“Hello!” he said.

The reflection had nothing to say to him in return. Eren also wasn’t so sure what to say next after “hello”. What did you say when you were trying to be smooth?

“I see you like… blue sweaters”. He cringed at his own words, bringing his hands to his face to hide from his own embarrassment. 

This was stupid. He was a prince! He could talk to this Omega, no problem. Not a big deal at all. But the reflection method didn’t seem like it was working for him.

He glanced around, grabbing a pillow off his bed, and propping it up vertically on his sofa.There was something missing, he thought. He quickly grabbed a pile of books from one of his bookshelves, placing it next to the pillow. The Alpha stood back, admiring his work. There. That would work better for him. 

Eren put his hands on his hips, grinning a little too much at the pillow. “Why hello there!” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself.” He brought a hand up to his chest, gesturing to himself. “My name is Pri… is Eren. And what is your name?”

The pillow answered only with silence.

“Nice to meet you, Armin” he said. “So, how long have you been working here? What made you want to work at a book shop?”

Once more the pillow’s silence filled the air in response to Eren’s questioning.

“Fascinating!” Eren declared, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “I’m not much of a reader myself.”

Well that was no good. Why would Armin want anything to do with Eren if he started talking like that? Maybe he should try to make himself sound a bit more interesting. 

“Oh me? I have many hobbies. I like to train, and to…um…”

Oh god. He didn’t have many hobbies did he? This was bad. How was he supposed to impress Armin without hobbies to talk about? 

“Um” he said to Pillow Armin. “Oh, what do I do? I don’t work right now. I’m studying. I have a lot of lessons everyday. They’re interesting sometimes… I suppose. I’m learning to play violin, but I’m not very good at it.” Eren had never been a fantastic student in any regard, but perhaps that was better left unsaid. “But I’m good at fencing, and I’m interested in sciences-”

“Oh, tell us more, your majesty” a voice said behind him.

Eren nearly jumped straight out of his skin. He yelped in alarm, coming close to tripping over himself. Cautiously he peered over his shoulder, a hand pressed over his pounding heart.

“You fucking scared me, Levi” he sighed. “I didn’t even smell you behind me.” 

Levi was standing with his arms crossed, looking unimpressed. “Don’t stop, Prince Eren” he said, a hint of sarcasm lacing his voice. “I think you were really about to sweep that pillow off it’s feet.”

“S-shut up” Eren stuttered, a hint of pink blossoming on his cheeks. He grabbed the books sitting next to the pillow, quickly moving to the bookshelf the return them to their rightful place. “What do you want?”

Levi sighed. “My position on the Armin situation has proved unpopular” he drawled.

“Mikasa talked to you then?” Eren asked, turning to face the older man.

“Erwin also disagreed” the Omega said. “So, since everyone seems so insistent on the subject, against my better judgement, we’ll be going out tomorrow.”

Eren took a few seconds to fully process what Levi said. He stared at him, his mouth going slack for a moment, taken aback. 

“Going out?”

“Well, you can’t very well meet him in the palace, can you?” Levi asked.

Eren broke into a huge smile. He rushed to Levi, throwing his arms around him. 

“Thank you” he said, laughing happily. “Thank you, thank you, thank you”.

“Alright, that’s enough” Levi growled, wriggling away from him. “Your scent will get all over me, and Erwin won’t like it.” 

Eren released him, still feeling positively giddy. 

“Here are my rules” Levi said sternly. “We go straight there, maybe get something to eat after, and then come straight home. If it goes well we can talk about it then, but if it goes badly you leave that Omega alone.”

“Right” Eren said, nodding quickly. 

Levi sighed heavily again. “I can’t even believe I’m doing this” he muttered. “Get some sleep.”

“Goodnight!” Eren called out behind him, watching Levi as he left. When the door clicked shut behind him he threw himself onto his bed, clutching a pillow, unable to stop the ridiculous grin on his face. 

 

* * *

 The next afternoon Eren was sitting across from Levi in an inconspicuous coach, riding through the cobbled streets of Sina, both on their way to Fritz Books. All the confidence he previously attempted to strum up for himself the night before had now vanished. His stomach was in knots, and he felt a bit queasy thinking about what would happen when he got to the bookshop. But, he was doing his best to keep himself together while Levi coached him on his upcoming encounter with Armin.

“Just smile, and be yourself” Levi said.

“How can you say that?” Eren said anxiously. “You never smile, and you still found a mate.”

Levi shrugged. “That’s different.” He thought a moment. “Don’t talk too much about yourself” he continued. “Ask him more about himself. Remember, you just think he’s cute, you don’t actually know him yet.”

“Right” Eren said quickly, feeling light headed.

“Do _not_ mention you’re a prince” the guard stressed. 

Eren whined in protest. “What? Come on. Being a prince is one of my most interesting attributes!”

“God” Levi said, shaking his head. “I sometimes wonder if you hear yourself when you talk. That’s really sad, Prince Eren.”

“It’s not sad” Eren argued. “Not everyone is a prince. Won’t he find it impressive?”

Levi rubbed his temples, looking tired. “I think he’ll find it more terrifying than attractive. Just don’t mention it, please. It’ll draw too much attention.”

Eren wanted to keep arguing about it, but he held his tongue. For all he knew Levi might turn the coach around if he argued too much. Glowering, he grumbled “Fine.”

“And don’t ask him out” Levi said seriously.

Eren looked at him in shock. “What?” he asked. “What’s the point of this then?”

“Trust me, your majesty” Levi said. “It’s not a good idea to ask someone in retail out while they’re on the job.”

The driver dropped them off a few streets away from their destination, and the pair walked the rest of the way. Outside the bookshop, Levi pulled Eren over to the wall next to the window, where Eren had hidden after running out of the shop just a week before. 

“Perfect” he said. “It’s not busy. If the shop isn’t busy he should have more time to talk to you.”

He put his hands on Eren’s shoulders, looking him in the eye. “Remember what I said?” he asked.

Eren had been staring off into space, becoming more anxious by the second.

“Eren!” 

The prince awoke from his stupor, focusing his attention on Levi again. “Um…”

“What did I say in the coach?” Levi repeated, more slowly this time.

“Be myself” Eren said. “Be nice. Smile. Don’t talk too much about myself. Don’t ask him out. Don’t tell him I’m a prince.”

Levi did not look like he had a lot of confidence in this mission, his lips pressed into a line, and his eyes narrowed. “I guess this is as ready as you’ll get” he said. “Don’t stress out. And, again, _don’t ask him out_ ”. He gestured to the door. “Let’s go.”

They entered the shop, the doorbell jingling just as it had the week before. The same woman that had been there the last time they had visited the shop came around the corner. Her gaze zeroed in on Eren, and she smirked a little, as if thinking of some sort of private joke. 

“Looking for anything specific today?” she asked Levi. She seemed familiar with him. Eren wondered if maybe Levi came here a lot on his days off.

“Just browsing” Levi said, already dragging Eren by the arm into one of the aisles of tall bookshelves. 

They wandered through the maze of towering shelves for a few minutes, peering around every corner before they took it or passed by it. The Alpha was starting to think that Armin might not be working today, and was beginning to feel disheartened. 

At last they peeked around a corner, and Eren spotted him, feeling heat suddenly coursing through him when he did. There was a large box of books on the floor, and Armin was and arranging them on a shelf. 

Feeling overwhelmed, Prince Eren attempted to run away, but Levi grabbed the collar of his shirt to stop him.

“Oh no you don’t” he growled in a low voice. “You’re not running away after we came all the way out here today.”

He pulled him back by the collar, choking Eren a little. “Now go out there and talk to him” Levi said.

“Alone?” Eren asked, feeling anxious.

“Of course alone!” Levi whispered harshly. He was obviously starting to lose his temper, but he closed his eyes a moment and breathed deeply, probably gathering what was left of his waning patience. “I won’t be far away. Now go.”

He gave Eren a harsh push, launching him into the aisle. When the prince looked back at where he had just been, he found that Levi had already disappeared. Eren peered around him, and saw that no one else was in the aisle. It was just the two of them. Alone.

Armin didn’t seem to have noticed that Eren was there. He was focused on his work stocking the shelves, and didn’t even look up at him. He reached into the box, grabbing an armful of books. There was a small ladder pushed against the shelf, to help him reach the top of the bookcase with ease. Carefully Armin climbed up, balancing his books, and started arranging them on one of the uppermost shelves. The blonde reached up, his body stretching as he did, his back arching just enough to make Eren’s mind go blank for a moment.

Eren gulped. This was it. It was now or never.

He walked up behind Armin, wondering what was the best way to get his attention. “Um…” he said. “Hello”.

Armin jumped in surprise, books falling to the ground as he lost his footing on the ladder. He began to fall, and Eren, in a panic, quickly reached out to catch him.

The Omega landed in Eren’s arms, looking frightened and confused. Eren quickly found his mind losing it’s focus, due to Armin’s attractive, familiar scent being so close. It was muted, like before. He probably wore a scent cream to cover it up, like Levi did. But, unlike his guard’s scent Armin’s was more clear smelling. It was just a little sweet, but mostly it was relaxing and calm. Eren liked it. He closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy it for a second. Armin felt so soft and small in his arms. It made Eren want to hold him closer.

He stopped himself quickly, his eyes opening. He helped the Omega back onto his feet, reeling a little from what had happened. Armin looked flustered, and upon seeing Eren looked even more so. However, he quickly he pulled himself together.

“I apologize, sir” the blonde said, Armin said, bending down to gather the fallen books. “I-I didn’t hear you there. Thank you for catching me”. He glanced around, looking for anyone else that might be around, but there was no one.

“Oh… no problem” Eren said in an awkwardly croaky tone.

He saw movement at the end of the aisle, which drew his attention. Levi was there, taking a book off the shelf. He opened it, as if pretending to read, but his eyes were watching what was going on.

“Can I help you find anything today?” Armin asked, sounding nervous, as he set the pile down on a step of the ladder. The question brought Eren’s attention back to the Omega. God, he had a cute voice. And a cute face. And his eyes were just so damn _blue_ and _beautiful_.

Wait, why was he staring at him so strangely? Ohhhhh. Eren realized that he had just been asked a question. However, he had been so distracted looking at the blonde that he had already forgotten what Armin had asked. His mind quickly set into panic mode. He needed to say something, and fast.

“My name is Eren” he declared loudly. 

An awkward silence fell between them, making Eren realize that he’d probably said the wrong thing. Dammit. Armin took a moment to answer, looking at Eren with an apprehensive expression. 

“O-ok… Eren” the blonde said. “Can I help you find something?”

“Um… yes” Eren said, looking around. “I’m looking for a book, on… on…. Er…” His eyes darted around, looking for something to say. There was a small placard on the bookshelf behind Armin. Upon reading it Eren’s mind quickly decided that was the best thing to say. “I am looking for a book on knitting,” he blurted out.

Armin tilted his head a bit, giving him a somewhat skeptical look. “Knitting?” he asked.

“Y-yes” Eren said, blushing, feeling more mortified by the moment. “I think it’s a fine art.”

Armin hesitated another moment, before approaching the crowded bookshelf. 

“Are you a beginner?” his soft voice asked, while his cerulean eyes wandered over the titles on the shelf. “Or are you experienced?”

“O-oh… a beginner” Eren replied, nervously.

Armin reached into the shelf, pulling a book with violet binding. A pair of knitting needles and a ball of yarn were engraved onto the cover. Armin looked it over for a second, before offering it to Eren.

“I recommend this one” he said. “It’s a solid book for beginners, I think. I found it much more useful than the books they used in school.”

Eren took it, not able to help the small smile forming on his lips. “You learned how to knit in school?”

Armin cocked an eyebrow at him, tilting his head a little to the side a bit more. “Yes, of course” he said hesitantly, looking at Eren in confusion. “Um…forgive me, but all Omega courses in school generally include a knitting component as part of their homemaking curriculum, do they not, sir?”

Eren was caught. He tried not to panic, thinking of how to dig himself out of this situation. He offered Armin a smirk, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. 

“Oh, do they?” he asked with a half-hearted chuckle. “I didn’t know that, how silly of me. I was homeschooled.”

Armin seemed to quickly accept his answer, making Eren very nearly sigh in relief. That had been close. Hopefully he wouldn’t have any more road bumps like that. 

“So, um… do you like knitting?” Eren asked.

The Omega seemed surprised. He probably hadn’t been expecting that Eren would ask something personal like that. Even so, he slowly shook his head. “Not particularly” he said. “It’s not bad, I guess, but I don’t really like it. I only learned because I had to.”

“So, what do you like to do?” Eren asked.

Armin nibbled his lip a little, in thought, before he answered. “I-I guess… I like books. I like reading.” He looked Eren in the eye, and the young prince felt suddenly breathless. Armin really did have the most beautiful eyes he had probably ever seen. “I like a lot of things,” Armin continued.“Like art, and science… er, but I work a lot, so I don’t have a lot of time to spend on them.”

“Oh… that’s too bad” Eren said.

A flicker of a smile came onto Armin’s features, as his eyes wandered over Eren’s face. “What about you?” he asked, sounding a little more comfortable than before.

“Um…” Eren could feel himself starting to blush. “I guess… I like sports. I’m pretty good at fighting”.

He mentally smacked himself. That didn’t sound very attractive at all, he thought. Still, Armin chuckled a little, offering him a soft smile. 

“That’s interesting” Armin said. “I’ve never been very good at fighting. If you’re interested, we have some new books about different fighting techniques.”

Eren returned Armin’s smile, feeling his own anxiousness receding. “I-I’d really like that” he said.

He let Armin lead him to another aisle on the other side of the shop. It really didn’t matter to Eren if the blonde was leading him to books about fighting, or more about knitting. He’d probably happily let Armin lead him to hell. After they reached the aisle, Levi quickly appeared there as well, still keeping an eye on the situation.

“Here they are” Armin said, gesturing to another shelf. “I don’t know if they’d be any good for practical fighting techniques, but I’ve heard they’re interesting reads.”

Eren blindly picked a book up off the shelf, flipping through it, and pretending to pay attention to what it said. “This looks good” he said.

Armin looked pleased to hear him say that. “I’m glad to be of help” the Omega said. “I hope you find everything you’re looking for today. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

The Omega started to turn away, making Eren’s heart sink into his stomach, and his mind go into overdrive. “Wait!” he said.

Armin, with eyebrows raised in surprise, turned back around to look at the Alpha. Eren, without thinking, quickly said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Will you go out with me sometime?” he asked loudly.

From the other side of the aisle he saw Levi cringe, and bringing the palm of his hand to his face.

Meanwhile, Armin’s face was rapidly turning a deep shade of red. He stepped back, away from Eren, stuttering his words, and shaking his head.

“O-oh” he said. “G-go out? Um… I… Er… Sorry… I, um, I need to g-go now.”

The blonde turned on his heal, and disappeared around the corner, leaving Levi and Eren alone in the aisle. Eren could hardly believe what had just happened. 

He had been rejected. Armin had really turned him down. All of that planning, and pining, and daydreaming. And that was it. It was over. Eren felt like a black hole was forming in his chest, and felt embarrassed with himself. Maybe he’d let himself get too caught up in his feelings. Maybe he had just been setting himself up for disappointment. 

“Well that didn’t go as planned” Levi said, coming up behind him. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Clutching the two books close to his chest, Eren walked with Levi toward the front of the shop again, feeling numb and disappointed. They paid for Eren’s books, before leaving, exiting back out onto the cobbled street. 

“There is a new cafe down the street. Let’s eat there” Levi said. He hadn’t yet made any scathing comments about Eren’s rejection, which the prince appreciated. Eren followed Levi to the cafe, silently, his mind still repeating what had happened in the bookshop over and over again.

He couldn’t help but think about it all throughout dinner. While Levi was talking he couldn’t pay attention. What had he said wrong? He thought he and Armin had been having a pretty nice conversation. What had happened?

“Don’t dwell on it too long” Levi said, interrupting his thoughts. “It won’t change anything.”

Eren shrugged, poking his steak with his fork. “I just don’t understand what happened” he said.

“I told you not to ask him out” Levi reminded.

The prince sighed, closing his eyes. “Yeah.”

Levi thought for a moment, before continuing. “Maybe you’re not his type” he said. “He’s not obligated to say yes just because you were nice to him, your majesty.” He took a sip from his water glass. “There will be others” he added. “Just give it some time.”

Soon it was time for them to return home. The sun had already set when they left the cafe. The streets were illuminated only by glow of the street lamps. Levi led Eren in the direction of the coach, the young Alpha following behind him, disappointment still gripping his heart. 

From not so far away, Eren heard someone yell out.

“What was that?” he asked.

Levi listened for a second, but shook his head. “Don’t worry, your majesty. This is Sina. The police will come to investigate any moment now, I’m sure.”

The Omega turned away again, and once more Eren could hear the voice calling out, louder this time. He listened harder, trying to pay attention to what it was saying.

“Leave me alone!” it said, sounding panicked. “Someone help me!”

It took Eren a second to realize he knew that voice. 

It was Armin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, poor Eren. I'm sure things will work out better for him in the next chapter ;)
> 
> It's been a while, sorry! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'm not super thrilled with it, but I think I'm finally semi-satisfied enough to let it fly free. Again, sorry about the wait. My life has been sort of consumed in preparation for a language proficiency exam in December. But, no worries, I have no plans to abandon this story or go on any form of hiatus. It may just take me longer to get chapters out between now and then. 
> 
> Hope you all have a lovely day! See you next time!


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